Return of the Gods
by anbu713
Summary: The Final battle. The farplane shakes as the gods strive to defend the land they've come to love as home against a deranged god's will. It all ends here...
1. Prologue

I'm back! here it is people, the long awaited book 2 of my series! Just wanted to let you know that, unless otherwise specified, this entire chapter takes place in japanesse. Now, read and review!

* * *

Prologue 

The two boys sat quietly watching the kendo team's practice from the sidelines. They were good for a high school kendo team, the two had already admitted to that. But as the two sat and watched silently it became apparent that they were just that. They were just good as a _high school kendo team_.

'They've got no real talent for combat. They look at sword fighting as a hobby, not as something that could save their life. God I wish they'd take a short trip to Spira. Then they'd see just how pathetic they are.' Matt thought bitterly.

It'd been two long years since he, along with Ryan, and Andy, had returned to Earth from Spira. When they'd gotten there they'd found several changes had happened while they were gone. First and most dominant was the presence of fiends in the world. The national governments had each formed their own "anti-fiend" unit to deal with their own fiend problems, only to find that conventional weapons didn't work well against them. That was where Ryan, Andy, and Matt had come in. Their first day back from the hospital, since their bodies on earth had been in comas while they were in Spira, that they'd been allowed to go to school the school was in fact overrun by coyotes. The three had beaten them with a dramatic flare, but that had been what attracted the US government to them. After a small "test" to see just how skilled they were the three of them, plus their friend Nick, had been formed into a not just an anti-fiend unit, but a fiend-killer unit. Rather then simply kill fiends when they appeared, they took the battle to the fiends, hunting down and killing them off before they had the chance to get close to any type of civilization. If the fiends had already gotten into a city or town, they worked with the local law enforcement to get the innocent to safety while taking the fiends out by any means necessary.

The second most dominant change was the fact that Auron, who Andy, Matt, and Ryan all looked up to like a student does a master, and who had been sent to the afterlife at the end of their time in Spira, was not in the afterlife. Instead, by some twist of fate, he'd been sent to earth instead. For the past two years he'd taught them the ways of combat, but with Auron "teaching" consisted more of beating the hell out of them until they got it. Despite Ryan's having long since mastered the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, and Matt being the reincarnation of the god of thunder, Dnortih, they'd were barely able to hit him more then once in a three hour session. But against Auron, once in any session was impressive, and while he never failed to point out their mistakes he never failed to point out the things they did well either. He'd also decided, for reasons known only to him and maybe the gods, to teach Nick how to use whatever weapon he wanted to use. As a joke Nick had picked a hockey stick, only to find out that Auron had been serious. For two years he'd been giving Nick private lessons after he'd finished with Ryan and Matt, and his quick improvement in melee combat showed just how effective a teach Auron was. He wasn't on the same level as Matt and Ryan yet, but he was better then anyone on the kendo team.

The last thing that had changed was their attitude towards life on earth. Knowing that they'd be going back to Spira in three years, Matt, Andy, and Ryan had decided to take several courses they normally wouldn't have taken in school. The first was advanced robotics, a move that had surprised everyone that knew them. Another move that had surprised everyone was their decision to go to a boot camp for not just basic, but also advanced survival training. Nobody knew of their job working for the government, but the fact that they were even getting out of their rooms and working made everyone so happy they didn't bother to ask questions.

A whistle snapped Matt out of his near-sleeping state. 'Finally, time for challengers.' Matt thought as he dropped down from the top of the folded bleachers. He had on a pair of loose fitting pants and a t-shirt that shouldn't have drawn too much attention to him but the team moaned none-the-less when the two dropped to the ground. He glanced over at Ryan who had on a similar outfit except for the pair of sword carrying cases he had slung over his shoulder.

Being in Japan for nearly two years had had one major benefit, and that was they weren't thought of as odd for carrying practice weapons around. Sure, they usually wore long coats or just stayed out of the town so that no matter what they were armed, but the thought that if they were asked why they had practice weapons they could simply pass it off as going to kendo practice. It wasn't that uncommon, so nobody bothered to ask questions as long as they didn't attack anyone.

"Wonderful, the Americans wanna try playing swordsmen." The coach, who apparently didn't enjoy the fact that his team had to take on _any _challengers, sneered as they approached.

"Play?" Ryan raised and eyebrow at the comment. "Did he say play?"

Matt smirked at the team. "I'm pretty sure the idiot did say play. Why don't _we _show _them _how to use a weapon?"

"You two even know how to use weapons? I'm pretty sure you'd piss your pants if someone even came after you with a pair of brass knuckles." One of the members taunted. The words sent shivers down both their backs as it reminded them of the reason Andy wasn't with them. He'd lost it on a gang and attacked them with his powers as the god of fire and then he'd been admitted into an insane asylum. Since then they hadn't been able to contact them, and even the government couldn't get him out.

Ryan dropped his pair of sword cases to the ground, removing one sword so quickly that the cases were empty before then. The kid who'd made the comment blinked in surprise before regaining his confidence. "Coach, I'll take them on."

"You sure Kenji-san? You're our second best swordsman; normally they'd have to prove themselves to even be allowed to fight you. That's our way." Ryan and Matt simply rolled their eyes.

"You don't think we're deserving enough? What the hell is this Matt?" The thunder god shrugged and Ryan grinned. "Ok, I'll fight you one-on-one, but on one condition: I win the rest of the team has to attack Matt and me at the same time."

Kenji burst into laughter at the thought of the two wannabes trying to take on a twenty-man team, assuming they could even get past him. "Well, anyone got a problem with that?" The team laughed at the question, apparently thinking the same thing he was thinking. "Well then, I'm going to have to accept your condition."

Matt shook his head and stepped to the side a few feet. He knew all too well how people flew through the air when Ryan fought. 'Well, not that they don't fly when I'm fighting. If anything I'd say they have a shorter flight with Ryan. And I tend to have to repair walls too.'

"Ready?" The two combatants bowed to each other. "Begin!"

Kenji lead the match off with a straight, vertical slash that, had they been using real weapons, would have split an opponent in two. Ryan raised his one sword lazily while throwing his other to Matt. The wooden weapons met and locked in mid-air, the sound drawing the attention of those who had been packing up.

"Wow, that was really… slow." Ryan grabbed Kenji's hand just beneath the finger guard and held the sword where in place while he slashed Kenji across the stomach with his own sword. Kenji winced in pain despite the fact that he was wearing protective gear. He felt Ryan let go of his sword and he jumped back two feet before dropping into a drawing stance.

"Oh shit. Bad move." Matt called out with a knowing smile. Ryan let out a small chuckle as he dropped into his own Battou Jutsu stance.

"So you wanna decide this with a drawing match." Ryan shook his head sadly. "Bad, bad move. You sure you don't wanna reconsider that?"

"Shut up and draw."

Ryan let out another small chuckle of amusement. "If you really insist." The two crept forward until they were within striking distance.

"Well, draw. You're the challenger."

"You're the dumbass." Kenji chuckled at the comment.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Not really, but from what I've seen I shouldn't either, so it makes sense." Kenji glared but his voice betrayed no hint of anger.

"I'm Urameshi Kenji, second best swordsmen on this team, and also known as the 'Living Basttousi', not that you read--"

"Rurouni Kenshin, right?" Kenji nodded and Ryan shook his head. "Sorry, but I can't see you being anywhere near as good with a Battou Jutsu as me."

"Why don't we find out then!" Kenji's wooden sword flashed and Ryan watched the rather fast move come at him.

'Well, it's not half bad, I'll give him that.' Ryan thought as the sword drew closer. With a single motion Kenji went flying into the wall to Ryan's right, his sword spinning into the wall to Ryan's left. "You're good with a Battou Jutsu. I'm better." Ryan told him mockingly as mummers of amazement swept through the dojo.

"Well then, shall we? Or perhaps you'd like to wait for your best to get here?" Matt threw a hint of fear into his voice to make it seem like Ryan had forced him to come with.

"Wait for this you bastard!" The third best on the team yelled as he charged in at Matt. He slashed at the teen twice before being sent flying to join his superior in the wall.

"Well, are you gonna wait for your best? My offer still stands."

"What about me?" A girl who looked like she was only a year younger then the two challengers asked as she walked into the room. She was already dressed in the typical kendo team outfit, a white kimono with the black pleated skirt. She had hazel eyes that were complimented by her light blue hair that shimmer in some spots but not in others as she stepped in and out of the sunlight that filtered in through the windows. "And what happened here? Why are Kenji and his friend sitting next to a pair of dents wall?"

"Ah, Sakura-sama!" One of the still standing kendo team members bowed to her.

"Sakura-dono. These two challenged us. The deal was that if Kenji-san couldn't beat the one with the sword one-on-one they'd get to fight the whole team." Sakura shook her head.

"Kenji nii-chan, what did you do?" Sakura asked lazily as she sat down and started to dig through her bag. "Wait, don't tell me, lemme guess. You got cocky and agreed to a bet that was so irrational that you should've noticed that something was wrong but didn't, right?"

"Onee-chan, are you gonna help or not?" Kenji asked as he sat up slowly.

"Ah-ha! Found them." Sakura pulled out a pair of Tonfas. "Well, I guess it's time to save all your butts again. So, who's first?"

Ryan and Matt shared an amused look. "I've got this one." Ryan nodded, sat down and waited to continue the match with the Kendo team.

"So, you first, eh?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "You'd better be ready to jump in, unless your friend doesn't mind getting his dignity handed to him."

"People are just so cocky these days." Matt muttered sadly. Sakura snorted at the comment. "You don't agree?"

"Well I've placed first place in the past six weapons competitions I've competed in. I'd say that gives me at least a _little _bragging right, wouldn't you?" Matt smiled slightly.

"Well you may have placed first in the past six weapons competitions you've competed in…" he hefted the wooden axe onto his shoulder and flashed Ryan and amused grin, "but this is going to be a lot different."

"Think so?" Sakura asked in a voice that held a razor edge. "Well I've got a rep to keep, so I'm just gonna have to kick your ass quickly then."

"Why don't you see if you can even land a hit first, hmmm?" Sakura let out an annoyed laugh before she charged in.

She covered the thirty feet between them in the blink of an eye and opened the fight with a roundhouse kick at Matt's head. Matt smiled and stepped back and let the kick swing buy harmlessly. As she turned he put the head of his axe on the ground where he expected her foot would land. He was right. "Mine." He muttered as he pulled the axe, and Sakura's foot, out from under her. She hit the ground and brought her Tonfas up in front of her face. She felt the weight of the wooden axe slam into her Tonfas and kicked up as hard as she could. Her foot hit something, but she suspected that, given how hard whatever she'd hit was, it was the axe and not his arm like she'd intended.

"That's my arm you know." Sakura opened her eyes and couldn't believe that he wasn't lying.

'What is he? His arm is like a tree trunk.'

"Well, you gonna get up?" She raised an eyebrow as he held out a hand to help her up. "You look surprised. I'm not going to attack someone that can't defend herself. Well, I guess their would be a few exceptions, but in general I like to keep my matches as honorable as possible."

Sakura shook her head and took his hand. She wasn't surprised that he had an incredibly strong, nor that he had a calloused hand, nor was she surprised that he lifted her off the ground with ease. "I can't say that a lot of people would've let their opponent up willingly."

Matt sighed and Ryan laughed. "When you've got the instructor that we've got it pays to be honorable and courteous. If not…" he let the sentence trail off and shivered as he thought of the few times he hadn't been honorable when sparring against Auron. "Anyway, let's finish this."

"Matt, what are you doing?" Auron's gruff voice cut through the silence like a knife. "Hurry up and end it. We've got work to do. Ryan, stop watching Matt fight and finish your own."

The two moaned softly but made no move to resist. "Well, sorry guys but it looks like you're all going to have to come at me at once." Sakura risked a glance over at the other battle and found Ryan knocking her teammates out in groups of three with a single swing of his sword. His eyes were closed and the way he moved made it seem like he was almost bored, despite the ruthless efficiency with which he worked.

'Who are these two?' Matt grinned slightly as the Sakura turned back to face him, the color of her face significantly drained.

"Well, I'm afraid we've only got two choices: the first is to finish this now and the second is to finish this later. I don't mind either way." Sakura smiled slightly.

"Let's end it." Matt smiled.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Sakura punched out at his face but Matt caught the punch like it was nothing, his head moving ever so slightly to avoid the butt of the Tonfa. Sakura frowned and punched out with her other Tonfa only to find Matt repeating his defense. "Anything else you'd like to try?" Sakura smiled innocently.

"One thing." She did a standing back flip. Her hands wrenched out of Matt's iron like grip, and heard the satisfying "thud" and winced in pain as her foot connected solidly with Matt's chin. 'Guess he wasn't as good as his friend--' Her mind and body froze up with surprise when she landed and found Matt still standing. "You're kidding me."

"Not bad, but not good either." Matt grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled down. She gasped as she realized a second too late what he was doing. Pain exploded in her head as his knee connected with her forehead. The world erupted and then went black.

"You idiot. You overdid it!" Ryan yelled, already halfway across the large kendo hall before Sakura was halfway to the ground. Ryan slid to a halt as Sakura landed on her hands and knees, breathing heavily but struggling to stand. "No way…"

'Interesting.' Auron thought to himself as Sakura got her left foot under her. 'After such an attack she should be barely conscious. Standing is nothing short of impressive, no matter who she is.' Matt, Auron, and Ryan shared interested glances before Sakura was on her feet completely.

"That… hurt." She muttered as she wiped some blood away from her eye. "It's been a _long _time since I've had a challenge. Sorry, I'd forgotten what it was like to fight someone who could take a hit." She reached down and recovered her Tonfas. "Well then, shall we continue?"

"Are you serious?" Matt asked, starring at her like she'd grown another head. She spun her Tonfas menacingly and Matt laughed. "I guess you are." He picked up his wooden replication of Lightning Edge and smiled. "Well, as I said before, let's finish this."

He swung the axe down in an overhand slash that Sakura sidestepped. She spun around and tried to chop him in the neck but Matt ducked under it easily, planted a hand on the butt of his axe and spun around. He felt his foot hit something and heard Sakura grunt in pain before his leg passed through nothing. He glanced down and was relieved to find that she'd rolled away from his attack, and hadn't simply decided to counter it.

"Mine!" Matt whirled around and saw Sakura's Tonfa blocking the rest of his view. He snapped his head back a second too late. He felt the edge of he Tonfa catch him in the jaw and he went to the ground spinning.

'This is getting _really _annoying.' Matt thought as he landed with a thud.

"Had enough?" Matt pushed up of the ground, ignored the metallic taste in his mouth, and glared at the girl in front of him. "Well, I guess not."

Ryan let out a low whistle. "Matt, she's kicking your ass. You sure you don't want any help?"

"End it." Auron ordered.

"If you really insist." Matt slammed his heel down on the head of his axe. The wooden weapon flipped into the air and landed in Matt's waiting hand. "Sorry, but you heard the man." Sakura rolled her eyes and dropped into a ready stance.

The two stared at each other for two minutes before Sakura grew bored of the stand off. She launched a series of three kicks and twelve punches at Matt, who in turn simply bobbed and weaved in between them, easily evading the attacks. "Game over!" He raised his axe over his head and brought it down with a single, mighty slash. Sakura, who'd been in the middle of a kick, was forced to block despite having only one foot on the ground. The impact caused her one leg to buckle beneath her, and her uppermost Tonfa cracked to the point where pieces of wood were biting into her arm. She felt one of his hands wrap around her wrists and realized the blow had only used one arm.

'Just how strong _is _he?' she wondered as he lifted her into the air like she was nothing. She tried to kick him as his free hand drew back to hit her, but the kicks were barely enough to make him flinch. He world erupted into pain as his fist connected with her stomach. She felt herself flying through the air for several agonizing seconds before she hit something. It didn't splinter like she'd expected the wall to, and when she looked up she understood why. "Ryan-san?" she asked despite the fact that the air had been knocked out of her lungs.

Ryan looked over at Matt and shook his head. "Like I said before: You. Over. Did. It." He said the sentence slowly, like someone teaching a young child for the first time.

"Hey, I had Auron up my ass." Matt countered. Ryan sighed and set Sakura down gently. He muttered a few words that either Sakura didn't know, or she was getting so little oxygen to her brain that it was affecting her hearing. As soon as he was done speaking she coughed, and then found herself very much able to breath.

"Thank you." She whispered absently. 'What happened to me? I've had the wind knocked out of me before, but to be able to breath again so soon… it's not normal at all.'

"You might want to save those thanks." Auron muttered as he stepped past the two and drew his giant sword. "Ryan, get Wind Cutter. Matt, catch." Auron launched Matt's signature weapon, a battle-axe named Lightning Edge, through the air as Ryan dashed for the second sword case he'd been carrying with him.

Matt caught the battered battle-axe and gave it an expert twirl, glad to have the familiar weight back in his hands. Had they been back on Spira, Matt would've had another battle-axe in his free hand, and he'd have wielded both with a skill that would've sent terror into the heart of almost anyone that would have stood before him. The sound of Ryan's remaining sword case opening brought a smile to his face. He turned and found his friend pulling his own legendary weapon from its sheath. Wind Cutter, the weapon of a psychotic, killer, gay angel that had it out for Ryan in every way. The only thing he _didn't _miss about Spira, the land where he'd first felt truly at peace, the land where he'd watched Auron be sent to the after life. And now he stood here, for reasons lost on everyone who knew him and his past.

"You said we had work to do?" Auron nodded and pointed to a window. Outside several floating eyeballs were coming towards the dojo. "You and Nick couldn't have handled that?"

"He was getting on my nerves." Before anyone could say anything about Auron's lack of patience with people the fiends fired bolts of energy at the sliding door, disintegrating it almost immediately. "Move!"

"Like we're even going to reach them?" The sound of metal passing through flesh was drowned out by the sound of the fiends screaming. "With so few did you really expect to reach them before Ryan?" The teen sheathed his sword and walked away from the three pools of blood. "So what did you really come here for?"

'Perceptive as always.' Auron noted with a chuckle. "You know your instructor well."

"You're dodging the question." Auron just watched the two from behind his sunglasses. "You're not going to tell us in public are you?"

"I felt the presence of someone." The fact that Auron was using English rather then Japanese testified to just how important this subject was. The two shared a glance and walked out of the dojo so they could talk in private. "It was the same presence you two, and Andy, gave off when I first met you."

"Meaning?" Ryan prompted.

"Meaning that it was a person touched by one of the gods or Lusniec, but like you when you first arrived in Spira, doesn't know it." The two teens just stared at him in amazement.

"You're saying that we've found him?" Auron nodded after a second.

"It's possible I could be wrong, but I know that it was someone that was touched by one of the gods."

"Is it possible to be touched by one of the gods and not be the reincarnation?" Matt nodded, also curious.

"Several of your more powerful predecessors were known to pass on the genes, although they are dormant and not usually strong enough to raise any suspicion among people. If the person who receives the gene goes on to be able to cast black magic, the spell of the god that has touched them will be more powerful then a normal spell casters of that type, though by no means close to what Matt or Andy could do."

"So whoever gave off that feeling might actually be the god, but might just be someone who's been touched by one of the gods." Auron nodded and the two sighed sadly. "Way to shoot down our hopes Auron."

"We're going to find this person, and take him or her back to Spira. I want the god found by nightfall, do you understand?" The two nodded and handed him their weapons, both of them knowing that it was going to be a long night.

888

"How long have we been looking?" Ryan asked as the three friends sat down in a park. The sun had long since set, and they hadn't had even the faintest lead all day. Matt looked down at his watch.

"It's ten. Curfew in an hour." Nick laughed at the comment. He sat on the far right of the bench and wore jeans, a long sleeved shirt, and a light over shirt with short sleeves. He had brown hair and always had an air of confidence around him that matched either of his friends if it didn't exceed theirs. It wasn't that he was truly more confident then them, they just like to be invisible as often as possible so they didn't walk into a room and draw attention to themselves the way Nick tended to.

"When has that ever stopped us?" Nick asked earnestly. "We've been here for nearly two years, and in those two years we've been out after curfew at _least _half the time, and we've yet to get caught."

"He's got a good point." Matt admitted. "But the real problem is getting the god of ice, not evading the cops. We're already several hours past our dead line."

"Which means Auron's going to be annoyed." Ryan added.

"Which means extra sparring and training, right?" Ryan and Matt nodded sadly and Nick moaned. "Well, at least we know that we're going to Spira soon, right?"

"Not necessarily. This could be a total waste of time." Matt glanced back at his watch. "And if it is, Auron is so screwed."

"Who are you screwing now, Matt-san?" Sakura asked as she walked up the path and sat down on a bunch next to them. "And what's all this about an 'ice god'?"

Nick and Matt moaned, leaving Ryan to talk for them once again. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Try me, Ryan-san."

Ryan sighed but Sakura didn't show any signs of backing off. "You remember that story I wrote for writing class that one time? About a place with a giant monster, and Summoners, a group of humans called Al Bhed, stuff like that?" Sakura nodded, recalling the insane story vividly. "Well, what would you do if I told you that it wasn't a story?"

"I'd probably call the mental institution, now mind explaining what that has to do with anything?"

Matt and Ryan chuckled and Nick just rolled his eyes. "You don't want to know." He warned.

"Just answer the question."

Ryan shrugged and cast his friends a helpless glance. "It was real." She stared at him. "All of it, every last detail. It was a little different since we didn't put ourselves into it, but it was pretty accurate. Good story too."

Sakura laughed at them. "You're kidding me, right? With Yuna, and Tidus, and Auron, and Rikku, and all them? You want me to believe that that was real?" She was answered by silence and her face dropped slightly. "You're serious. Ok then. Amuse me. What're you doing now?"

The three shared a look. "Well, we're trying to go back." Sakura just stared at Ryan, waiting for him to explain. "When we left, it was under the condition that if we found someone, a specific person that we'd never seen, met, or heard of before, we could come back. And we had three years to do it. We've only got about a year left."

"So you're trying to find a specific person, on earth, so that you can go back to this insane world where it seems like every day is a struggle to survive." Ryan and Matt shared a look before nodding. "Ok, I'm in."

"You're shitting me, right?" Sakura glared at Nick.

"What's wrong, Nick-san? You wanna go to this place, right?" Nick nodded. "Well, I've been really bored after school recently. And if this place really does exist, I think I'd fit right in with those "guardians" you guys mentioned in the story, don't you agree?"

"Nope, not really." Sakura glared at Matt. "Well, after Sin died, there wasn't a need for Summoners. Without Summoners, there were no more guardians."

"Oh. No big deal. I'm sure I'll find _something _I'll be useful in. Maybe make my own group. Who knows, right?"

"Wait, you mean you want to _come _now?" Sakura nodded and the three sighed. "Auron's not going to like this." Sakura's eyes widened.

"Auron? Isn't he the old, tough, cryptic as hell guy from your story?" Ryan nodded. "He's an actual person?"

"Yeah, you saw him earlier today. He's the guy that showed up at the dojo. Tall, white streaks in his hair, big sword, red coat, sunglasses, only one eye."

"Okay, okay. I get it. So who is this person you're looking for again?"

"Oh, he's the god of ice." She stared at him. "What?"

"Your story didn't mention any gods." Ryan sighed.

"No, but didn't I say I took us out? That's because Matt is a god. God of thunder as a matter of fact. And there was Seph, who was the water god. Our friend Andy is the god of fire. There's still the god of ice though. Once he's found we can go back and save Spira for good. That's the plan anyway."

"Uh-huh. So you guys are gonna save an entire world?"

"Actually we've already saved it once. We're just going to make sure the job stays finished." Matt shrugged. "It's a pain in the ass, but we've all got things we've gotta do."

"Well then, what do we do now?" Matt and Ryan glanced around, suddenly on edge. "Something wrong?"

"Nick, take Sakura-san to our house. Tell Auron that Ryan and me are doing some street cleaning." Nick just looked at Matt and then he seemed suddenly on edge too. "Move it Nick!"

"Right, come on Sakura-san." Nick grabbed her by the hand and started to run back towards their house, but Sakura wrenched her hand free. "Come on, Sakura-san! We've got to get out of here!"

"Why, what are you guys so afraid of?" something brushed up against her leg and she gave out a small cry. "What was that?"

"Shit, get out of here you two!" Ryan switched to English without realizing it as electricity filled the air and two thunder flans jumped at the group. Sakura screamed before passing out, and Ryan launched a holy spell into the first creature. It erupted in a wave of gooey gore as Matt grabbed the other as best he could. Lightning rode up his arm and wrapped around him as the creature tried in vain to escape his iron-like grip. It flashed as the last bit of electric essence that gave it life was absorbed and then it was gone.

"That was fast." Matt shook his head. "It's not over, is it?"

"Is it ever that simple, Nick?" He shook his head.

"Unfortunately no, it never does seem to be that easy." Nick glanced around uneasily, suddenly very aware of the multiple sets of eyes watching him. "Well, I guess I'll leave all this to you two. Tell Auron you're doing some street cleaning. Got ya." Turned around to find an almost solid wall of flans between him and Sakura. "Guys, problem!"

"Damn flans! Why are they always coming in abnormally large waves? So inconsiderate." Ryan complained as he launched a few Holy spells into the group of flans. Two exploded but the rest, now twelve in all, started to hurl spells of their own. Matt and Ryan scattered, dodging and blocking the spells and countering with their own.

"This isn't going to work you guys. They're bound to notice Sakura eventually." The leaves near Sakura started to rustle. "Nick, get Sakura out of here, now! Stop waiting around for us!"

"I would if I could, but I'm kind of busy. Have Ryan get her out of here, he's the damn guardian angel after all!" Two ice flans burst out of the bush next to Sakura.

"Shit!" They each hurled a spell as Ryan started toward Sakura. 'I won't make it!' As the realization dawned on him he instinctively threw a shield over Sakura, something he'd been forced to do many times since Auron had taken over their training. There was a bright flash followed by a wind that would've been cold in an Alaskan winter. The sudden temperature change caused all the fighting to stop. All three boys stared at Sakura in amazement.

"You're kidding me, right?" Matt muttered in a voice mixed with hope, fear, amazement, and annoyance.

"Only if we're both dreaming…" Ryan muttered absently as the flans started to harden in the icy wind. 'Why aren't we freezing?' He glanced over at Nick, and although he did seem like he was a lot colder then he'd been before, there was no sign of him freezing either. The two warriors from Spira looked over towards Sakura and almost exploded in laughter. A wall of ice had appeared between her and the magic.

"Guys, what the hell happened to Sakura! She's covered in fucking ice!" Nick was beginning to panic, but his comment snapped Matt and Ryan out of their daze. Ryan whipped out the sphere that he'd been using to record anything special or amazing over the past to years and turned it on.

"Well Sakura, here's the proof." He muttered just loud enough for the sphere to pick up. He moved around so the sphere took in the flans, which were now encased in solid ice. "All this with your own power." The wind died down and Ryan put the sphere away. A single bolt of lightning slammed into a flan and arched around to all of the ones that weren't thunder flans, which Ryan destroyed with a holy spell instead. When they finished they turned back to see Sakura muttering in her sleep.

"Now that's how a god should act." Matt muttered as he picked Sakura up gently and led the three back to their house.

888

Whack, whack, whack.

'What's going on?' Sakura wondered as she wrapped the blanket around herself more tightly, trying to drown out the sound.

Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack, thud. "Ow!" The realization that she was hearing the sounds of a fight began to pull her out of the fog-filled void she'd been dreaming in. 'Who was that man?' she wondered. He'd been tall, worn a kimono, had had long silver hair, and his sword had been almost as tall as he was, maybe two inches shorter at most.

The sound of wood being broken through brute force nearby brought Sakura out of her half-dazed state and into a completely alert one. She took in her surroundings and frowned. 'This isn't my room. Where am I?' she stood up and found that she still had her clothing on, but her muscles seemed tense, like she'd just gotten out of an ice-cold shower. 'What happened here? And why is my head throbbing?'

The door to the room slid open a few inches but waited to see if she said anything. "Come in?" Sakura asked as much as stated, and the door slid completely open, revealing Ryan standing there with a bandage.

"Good, your awake." He closed the door behind him and put the bandage down. "I was coming in to change your bandage."

"My bandage…" He smiled and tapped his head slightly. Sakura reached up and felt a bandage. "What happened? Last night I mean."

Ryan sighed before answering. "Well, I think that's a conversation that can be saved until after your parents hear from you. But before that, could you turn around?" Sakura raised an eyebrow and took a single step backwards. "No, no! Nothing like that. The bandage is latched on the back of your head."

"Oh, sorry. I'm not exactly used to waking up in a house full of guys." Whack, whack, whack, whack, whack. "What's going on out there?" She glanced at Ryan and for the first time realized how exhausted he looked. "And what happened to you?"

"Me? Oh, I must look like crap, huh?" Sakura nodded and he shrugged. "Auron's been cracking the whip on us ever since we got home. It's never a good thing to be four hours late to finish something that Auron tells you to do. Anyway, let's take care of that bandage." Sakura nodded, turned around, and sat down. "So what do you remember about last night?"

Sakura thought for a second before answering. "Well, I remember some jelly things, but that must've been a dream." The old bandage came off and dropped to the floor in a pile of white and red cloth. Sakura winced at the sight of the blood. "Other then that I just remember you, Matt-san, and Nick-san telling me that that story you wrote for school was real." There was a slight sensation and her headache disappeared. She turned and looked at the exhausted teen who was now standing up. "You've definitely done this before."

Ryan shrugged. "You could say that I'm the doctor of our little group." Matt poked his sweat-covered face in and Ryan threw a pillow at him. "Hey, nobody needs to see your ugly mug in the morning. It's just too cruel to be allowed by the law."

"Yeah, yeah. E'mm gemm oui mydan (I'll kill you later). But for now, Auron says to go make breakfast." Ryan sighed but stood up.

"Well, try not to move your head too quickly, Sakura-san. And don't forget to call your parents, your mom was freaking out on me last night."

Sakura giggle. "Sorry 'bout that, she doesn't know that I joined the kendo team. If she did…" Sakura ran her thumb across her throat playfully. The three left the small room, each heading to a different part of the house. Sakura knew he way around very generally, since she'd come in to get out of the rain once. She'd called her mom then too so finding the phone didn't prove very difficult. "Hey nii-chan. It's Sakura here, can you put mom on?"

"Sakura? Where have you been?" Kenji seemed frantic. "Mom's been freaking out on me!"

"Well if you put her on I can put an end to that."

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into Onee-chan." Kenji whispered before he handed the phone to his mother.

"Sakura! What have you been doing! Did they do anything to you! Do you know how worried we were?"

"Calm down, mom. It's okay, just let me talk, ok?" She was answered by silence and took a deep breath. "I'm fine. Ryan-san, Nick-san, and Matt-san brought me to their house after I passed out. I guess I hit my head when I fell but they took care of that too. And no, they didn't do anything to me. Except for cook me breakfast."

"So you're okay then?"

"Yes, mom. I'm fine. When should I come home?"

"Whenever you feel like it. Don't push yourself, Sakura." Sakura's mom hung up the phone.

"Now I'm cooking for another person? Man, this day just keeps getting better." Sakura chuckled.

"Sorry, I hope it's not a problem." Ryan waved the question away.

"Nah, I just like to complain. Don't worry about it." Sakura bowed and left. 'Well, Spira's going to be quite interesting this time around.'

888

"Faster Nick. You're defense is too slow." Nick winced as he ran a hand over his bruised arms. "If you plan to survive the battles you're going to be in, you won't be able to rely on Matt, or Ryan. They'll have enough to deal with."

"I know, but it doesn't help that my arms have gone numb under you damn attacks!" Auron just glared at him impartially. "Yeah, I thought so." Nick threw down his weapon, a modified hockey stick. The entire blade of the stick was bladed, and at other end had a spearhead on it.

"Wow." Sakura muttered as she walked in. "That's a unique weapon." Nick shrugged.

"It started off as a joke. Auron turned it into an entirely new way of fighting." Nick shrugged and continued to rub his arms. "And he did it forcefully, too."

Sakura laughed. "I'm sorry, Nick-san. I'm not trying to make fun of you, it just I've never heard of an instructor that just _beats_ fighting into his students. No offense intended of course, Auron-dono." Auron simply grunted.

"You held your own against Matt, right?"

"Huh? Uhh… yeah, why?" Auron looked her over, thoroughly surprised despite his impartial face.

"That shows that there is still some hope for you."

"Excuse me? Master swordsman or not, you do _not _talk to me like that!" Sakura stomped into her room, grabbed her Tonfas and then came back out. "I'll show you why, too!"

Nick and Matt laughed and Auron just glared at her as she spun her Tonfas impatiently. "You're serious then?"

"What does it look like?" she replied crossly.

"Hey, what's with the Tonfas?" Ryan asked as he walked into the room, a surprisingly good smell following him into the room. "Sakura-san, I thought I told you _not _to do too much. Fighting with Auron is _way _too much. Besides, breakfast is ready."

"Good, I'll need something to eat when I'm done with him!" Sakura charged Auron, who almost burst into laughter at the straightforward assault.

"Lesson one: Never attack an enemy that you don't know head-on." His sword slammed down on Sakura's shoulder and pain raced through her body. Her vision swam as she jumped back to avoid the follow up attack that would normally have followed. It didn't.

"Sakura-san stop it no--"

"Stay out of this, Ryan." Auron's voice left no room for argument so Ryan stayed silent as Sakura charged in again. This time she watched Auron's sword more carefully, and did manage to block his first strike, although even with a bamboo sword the force behind the blow forced her onto one knee. "Lesson two: Except the unexpected." Auron's kick slammed into her and sent her flying halfway across the room.

"Isn't this normally when you'd be stepping in?" Matt asked Ryan as the angel's muscles tensed.

"If it gets too dangerous for Sakura I will, but I don't think she'll appreciate it." Sakura's next charge was much more uncertain then the first two had been.

"Lesson three: trust your instincts." She sidestepped Auron's first cut, ducked under his kick and rushed in towards his back. With a cry she punched out at his face but he leaned away from it, having already anticipated where the strike would be. He slammed his fist into her stomach but felt wood crack instead as she went flying across the room. With moves that would've put any gymnast to shame she twist around so that she landed in a crouched, but ready, position. 'Well, she's better then I wanted to admit.'

"Did you know that would happen?" Matt asked as Ryan sat down. The teen smiled cryptically but said nothing as Sakura stood back up and looked at the broke Tonfa.

'If that had hit me I'd have been done for.' She realized as she looked at the splintered end. "Even though it hit the Tonfa, my arm is already going numb. And that was his weak hand!'

"Shall we continue?" Ryan stood up and stepped in between the two of them.

"Auron, she hasn't been to Spira, and she hasn't trained under you for two years like Nick has." Sakura raise and eyebrow at the English.

'Guess they don't know I understand it. Interesting. I'll have to use that to my advantage in the future.'

"Your point?"

"My point is she can't take a beating like I can." Ryan turned to face Auron completely.

"Move."

"Sorry, Auron. That's just not who I am and you know it."

"Then pick up your weapon." Matt hurled a pair of bamboo swords to his friend.

"Good luck, Ryan! You're going to need it!" Ryan rolled his eyes, already knowing that he was going to regret it. "Hey, before you begin. Ryan, can I have your CDs?" His friend flipped him off and Matt and Nick laughed.

"Last chance." Auron warned.

"Man, by the time we're done breakfast is going to be cold." Ryan muttered as he scratched his head. "Can't we just--" He stopped in mid sentence as an artic like wind swept through the house.

"Ryan-san, move it. I appreciate the help, but this is my fight." Everybody in the room turned to face the ice goddess who was, as far as they could tell, tapping into her power unintentionally. She charged in, her one Tonfa held against her arm tightly. Auron watched her, knowing that she wasn't dumb enough to try a straightforward attack without some kind of plan.

'What are you planning, kid?' He slashed down in his usual over hand slice, this time using both hands to gain even more power. Sakura stepped to the side slightly, barely avoiding the attack. Before Auron could bring his sword back up she slammed her foot down on it, snapping the wooden sword. She stepped forward and slammed her Tonfa into Auron's chest. Auron grunted with surprise, grabbed her by her arm, and sent her flying through the air.

"Idiot, she's hurt!" Auron watched as Sakura slammed into the ground and rolled to a stop, a line of blood marking the course she'd traveled. "Sakura-san, you ok?" Sakura pushed herself up to her hands and knees shakily and glared at Auron. "Hey, don't push yourself. You're mom's already going to kill me." He helped her up. "Perhaps we should just eat breakfast? It's already six."

"Six!" Sakura gasped in surprise.

"What, I'd have normally been up for almost two hours." She looked at Ryan like he was insane. "Yeah, most people look at me that way."

"Ryan! What the hell is this!" Matt demanded from the kitchen.

"That can't be good…"

"It's frozen! You froze the freakin food!" Nick threw a cup at the teen who ducked under it, only to realize that it wasn't a cup, but the tea that had been in it.

"Why would I freeze it, I haven't eaten yet! And besides, how could I have frozen it, I'm just an angel, not Sakura!"

"What's that mean?" Sakura spun Ryan around by his arm so they were staring face-to-face.

"I think that's Auron's department." Ryan said as he shrugged free of her grip easily. "As for me, I've got _another _breakfast to prepare."

888

Sakura put down her empty plate and stared at Auron blankly. "I've got to go home."

Auron sighed. "Do as you will."

"Sakura, we need your help. It'll only be a temporary visit for you, then we'll just send you back through the portal. Hell, if you want we'll give you an escort back to your house." She just glared at Matt.

"I'm sorry. You guys are talking about taking down a god. I don't care how good you guys are in a fight, you're no match for a god."

Matt sighed. "First off, I'm a god, and there's at least one other god waiting to finish what we started two years ago. We can get another god there as well. Then all we've gotta do is kill Yu Yevon again. Then you can come home and pass this _whole thing _off as a bad dream."

Sakura sighed. "Why me?"

"You have been touched by Usi." Sakura just rolled her eyes at Auron.

"_Why _have I been touched by Usi though? Why should I have to go on this adventure with you? Why couldn't it be some D&D nut or something, somebody who actually wants to do something like this?"

"Sakura-san?" She turned to Ryan. "When Matt and I first went to Spira, do you want to know why we went?"

"What the hell, why not. Why, Ryan-san, did you go?"

Matt and Ryan smiled. "We got killed." She stared at them like they were insane. "It's true. We got killed by a guy who was robbing a store. He came out, saw us, and killed us. Then the Fayth came and offered us a second chance. And we took it."

"Wonderful, now I'm talking to dead guys." Sakura moaned and put her head down on the table.

"What about this, Sakura-san." Everyone turned to face Nick who had been quiet the entire time. "If you don't come and help us stop the fiends, then there is a good chance that we'll fail. If we fail, you'll be the only person left with any power to stop the fiends, and you _will _have to. You'll be forced to leave your family and friends behind just like we were. And odds are, they'll all die."

Matt and Ryan just stared at him in amazement. "I thought I was supposed to be the team spokesman."

"Things change." Matt said absently, still slightly amazed that Nick had come up with such a good point. The fact that he was even attempting to use diplomacy was amazing itself as well.

"So if I help you… and we win, the fiends'll leave? For good?" Auron simply nodded, and Sakura took a deep breath. "Fine, I'll help."

"Well then, we'd better start getting ready." Ryan stood up and walked over to the phone. "Boss man! Hey, Ryan here…"

"You guys have a boss?" Sakura asked Matt as Ryan walked into another room.

"Yeah, and you'd never guess who it is."

"Then why don't you tell me instead of wasting _both _our time?" Matt smiled at the comment.

"The president of the United States." He enjoyed the amazed look on Sakura's face.

"Matt, we just got 100 thousand to get supplies."

"You convinced him to give us that much that quickly?" Nick stared at his friend in amazement.

"Well it is going to get rid of all the fiends, so he'll never have to pay us again. Besides, he's probably thinking 'How much could three teens spend' right now. And what are the odds we could even live through this, in his eyes anyway." Everyone in the room smiled. "Well, lets show him just how we appreciate the money, eh?"

888

"Hey, Bokuzen-san! You here?" The white hair old man stood up and waved them in despite the sign that said the store was closed.

"Well if it isn't my three favorite customers. You're a little early today boys, you're normally not here until nine. Something wrong?"

"Actually we're leaving Japan. We've got no choice, but we figured we'd stop by, stock up on supplies, say good-bye, stuff like that."

"Well I'm sad that you're leaving. That'll be a lot of money out of my pocket a month. You were good customers. But, I'm sure you've got your reasons."

"You've got no idea. Wait till you see what we've got to spend this time around." Bokuzen raised an ancient eyebrow at the comment, and Matt pulled out a wad of cash. "Well, let's see your… special stock."

"Well, with that kind of money in front of me I'm sure I could do something for you." The old man laughed as he led them into a back room that was lit by a single light bulb. He moved a carpet away from the back left part of the wall and started pulling on something, but it didn't come up.

"I got it." Matt gripped the rope with one hand and gave a half-hearted tug that nearly tore the trap door off its hinges. "After you." The elderly man dropped down the hole and landed with surprising ease for someone 85 years old. In the few seconds it took the three boys to drop down he had several different weapons on display.

"Throwing stars, throwing spikes, needles, grappling hooks, rope, foot spikes, hand claws, throwing knives, mini throwing knives, utility belts, chains, blunt metal spikes, and random bracer-like things." Nick let out a low whistle as they looked over the old man's special inventory. "You know, I'm glad you're on our side."

"Well Nick-san, you're my best paying customers. It would be bad for business if I took you three out, although I must confess I'm curious as to why you're looking for the weapons of an assassin."

Matt smiled slightly, "Well, with your connections I'm sure you know about the increase in fiend sightings, right?" The old man smiled thinly and nodded. "We're going to stop it. Before you ask how, don't. It's best if you don't know. As for this stuff, exactly how much do you have?"

"Three crates of just about everything, why?" the three teens smiled and pulled out more money, "Ok, what do you need?"

"Well, we'll take four sets of those," Ryan pointed towards the bracers, "four of these," he hefted a utility belt, "four of sets of each of these," He picked up the hand and foot spikes, "And none of the shurikens or kunai, none of the throwing knives. But we will take some of these." He picked up a throwing spike.

"And I'll take this with fifty feet of rope." Nick picked up the grappling hook and Matt and Ryan sighed. "What about these chains? We could use a few of those."

"Why not, it's not like we have to worry about money." Matt glanced around and pointed to a closet. "What's in there?"

"There? Oh, just my old outfits. I've got them for just about every type of environment." He walked over and opened the dusty closet. "Ok course, they're not big enough for you kids."

"Could you get us each a set like that?" He turned around and faced them.

"It'll cost you. These are highly insulated, lightweight, and custom made. It cost me four grand a piece." The old man glanced down at the two piles of money. "Of course, if you're willing to pay for them then yes, I'll get you some." The teens gave them the sizes they would need, including Sakura's, and left.

Their next store wasn't a store at all. It was actually a United States military base. "Hey sergeant." They said as they walked through the metal detector. The machine went off instantly but the sergeant waved them through and motioned for the man to turn it off. "Thanks for your help, sir."

"Help? This is a matter of self-preservation boys. You said you'd take out the fiend problem permanently. Besides, how could I let a bunch of kids go into such a dangerous mission without the proper equipment?"

"Well I'm sure the president wouldn't like this if he knew about it." The sergeant waved Matt's comment off.

"I'm in charge of the base, not the president. Besides, I know you three. You're young, hot-headed, stupid in a fight, but you aren't just doing what you do for kicks."

"I didn't know you cared, sir." Ryan said sarcastically as a door hissed shut behind them and locked tightly. "So we do we have today?"

"Nothing fancy today boys. We've got these prototype sunglasses, and wireless earpieces that'll keep you in touch up to a thousand yards without satellites, more with. Fiberglass boot daggers, heel and toes. Won't set off any metal detectors and it gives you a hell of an advantage in a fistfight. Stun grenade prototypes with motion, impact, and timers, and flash bang grenades. We've got capsules that explode using that powder stuff you showed us, though they won't do much damage unless you use a lot of'em. We've got smoke grenades too, impact, time delay, and motion delay. We've got satchels with the same stuff, and lots of trip wire. I don't know what else you guys could possibly need, but if there's anything else just let us know."

The three teens put four empty backpacks on the ground. "Well, I've got a question. How the hell do you have prototype sunglasses?" The sergeant smiled proudly and picked up a pair.

"They've got several different display modes. First you've got just normal sunglasses." He pressed a button on the glasses, "Now you've got night vision," He pressed the button again, "now you've got infra-red, and there's also a targeting mode to help even the best snipers aim."

"Could we get three pairs of those without the targeting assistance and one normal one?"

"This isn't a shop, Ryan. It's a military instillation. We can't just rip apart our prototypes for you." Ryan raised an eyebrow and the sergeant laughed. "That's what I would say if anyone else were here, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, sir. So guys, what do you think you'll need?" The three looked over the assortment of weapons and items.

"The earpieces are a given, and I like the fiberglass daggers. The capsules will fit nicely in the utility belts, and all good ninja-like fighters need smoke grenades. Hell, lets just take some of everything. That way we're sure to get what we need. The rest we can just find a make-shift use for or something."

"That's probably for the best." Ryan agreed and the sergeant nodded.

"Very well, I'll have packs made up for you." The sergeant took the backpacks and dismissed them. After they were out he smiled sadly, "Don't get yourselves killed, kids. We've lost too many damn good soldiers to the fiends already."

888

Sakura sighed as she listened to her mom's complaints about the idea of her going on a trip with four guys she didn't know very well for three months. 'I knew this wasn't going to work.' She glanced over at Auron for some help, but the man stood as still as a statue.

"So, do you have any proof that they won't try anything stupid? You already said that you couldn't beat one of them!"

Sakura was silent for a moment, pretending to try and think. She'd had a plan for this situation, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to use it. 'Oh well, only way I'll be able to go.' She thought glumly. "They're gay." Her mom stopped pacing and stared at her. Auron raised and eyebrow at the comment but said nothing as Sakura continued, "It's true. They had their boyfriends there when I woke up."

"Is that true?" Auron remained silent. "Sir, is that true? Are your children gay?" Auron raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." He muttered after a few seconds.

Sakura's mom studied him for a second before sighing. "If they're gay… I guess it is okay. However, if they try _anything _I want you to call immediately, got that?" Sakura nodded. "Okay, then go pack your things." She turned to Auron after Sakura was out of hearing range. "She's lying, isn't she?" No reply. "Your children aren't gay, are they?"

"No."

"Promise me you won't let them do anything to her." Auron looked at her before answering.

"Ryan already has a girlfriend that he's loyal to. He and Matt are both very honorable and won't try anything."

"She said there were three boys. What about the other?" Sakura's mom glared at Auron but he simply smirked.

"Ryan won't let anything happen to Sakura against her will."

"How do you know that? Is he all powerful?" She asked sarcastically.

"He's a master swordsmen, and he's nearly died several times trying to save him friends. Although that was two years ago he's become even stronger. There aren't many people, or many creatures for that matter, that could scare him. And even if they did, he'd still fight them. I can think of only three people who could beat him."

"And they would be?"

"Myself, Ryan's first Rival Lusniec, and his second rival who's only known as 'Yojimbo'. We are the only ones to ever beat him, or come so close to it that he nearly died." Sakura's mom shook her head and walked away. 'At least she's letting Sakura come.'

888

Lusniec sat in the darkness of his dimension. The candles had long since died, several months ago as far as he could tell. Despite the fact that he could recreate them with a mere thought, he didn't. Instead he spent all of his time and effort scouring Spira, night and day.

"He'll come back. I can feel it. He's coming soon!" The once living swordsmen muttered to himself. "This shall be fun. I'll cut him down, and then I'll be the best again! Only me, no one else! No one else deserves that title, it is mine!"

"It is." The voice sent a wave of surprise over Lusniec. The bloodlust the man was giving off suddenly became apparent as Lusniec turned to face him completely. The man was taller then most, close to 6' 3" as far as Lusniec could tell. He had on a devil mask, and a cloak that not only covered his entire body from view, but looked like it had blood running down it no matter how the light reflected off of it. "The title of strongest should be yours. Only you can truly wield a sword. Your successor, he is a fly before your power. How was he able to defeat you?"

"Luck." Lusniec snarled. "He was lucky, nothing more. Now who are you?"

"A friend." The figure replied calmly. "Someone who wants revenge on his friends as much as you want revenge on him."

"So mystery man, what do you want with me?" the fact that the man had been able to sneak up on him without him knowing unsettled Lusniec a great deal.

"Alone, I can't beat them. And Ryan constantly jumping in the way of attacks that are aimed at other people will be… problematic for me." The masked man looked at Lusniec's swords. "That's where you come in. If you can distract Ryan, however you see fit of course, I can make sure _no one _can get interrupt you battle."

"Nobody could anyway." Lusniec glared at the man. "None of Ryan's friends can see him, none the less help him in a fight against me. They won't get in the way for fear of holding him back."

"Two years is a long time, Lusniec." The angel stiffened. "They've all gotten stronger. And now there is another god in their group, one whose true powers are unknown even to one who sees as much as I do. She could prove to be the strongest of them all just as easily as the weakest of them all if she is allowed to be trained in using her powers. And the young thunder god. He _can _see someone at your speed move. And he _can_ stop attacks at that speed, with startling efficiency no less."

"Matt? Ha, he knows of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, but he cannot counter it. That is far beyond him." The man turned his head to watch the volatile angel. "You try to play on the fears of others to manipulate them, but you don't know as much as you claim."

The man chuckled grimly. "Am I? Does it matter?" Lusniec raised an eyebrow. "I will oppose them, with or without you. I just thought it would be prudent to have someone capable to deal with that annoying pest, and who better then the man who wants him dead more then any other?" Lusniec bit his lip at the offer. "If you wish to fight him then come to Gagazet in two weeks. They will be at the entrance to the caverns of darkness."

"Who are you?" Lusniec demanded, trying to gain at least some useful information from the conversation. The man chuckled again and lifted his hand to his mask.

"Do you truly wish to know?" Lusniec nodded and he removed his mask.

"That's not possible."

888

"Sakura-san! Auron! How'd it go?"

"You're gay." Auron said without breaking stride.

"What the hell are you talking about?" The three shouted at the same time.

Sakura laughed nervously and the three whirled around on her. "I'm sorry! My mom wouldn't have let me come otherwise, I had to tell her you were gay! Please forgive me!" Ryan's eye twitched, Matt just shook his head in annoyance, and Nick was red with rage.

"Don't _ever_ say that I'm gay again, or we will _all _die." Sakura's confusion was easy to spot so Ryan explained further. "There's a guy there, in Spira. He's gay, but he also wants to kill me." Ryan shivered at the thought of Lusniec. "If he ever heard that I was gay it'd be really, really bad."

"For all of us." Matt added. "Well, except you."

"I'd rather avoid Lusniec for as long as possible. I barely beat him last time. And now he's seen the final attack, so he's probably figured out its weakness."

"There's a _weakness_? I thought it was the ultimate attack of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, how the _hell _could it have a weakness?" Ryan shrugged Matt's question away.

"The Kuzu Ryu Sen had one, didn't it? That's supposed to be an 'Ultimate attack' too, right? Nothing's flawless, you should know that." Sakura stared at Ryan. "Can I… help you?"

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style? You use the Hiten Mitsurugi Style?" Ryan shrugged.

"After everything you've been through, does that really surprise you?" Ryan questioned.

"Yes! How could you possibly use the Hiten Mitsurugi Style! It's humanly impossible!"

"Well he is a guardian angel, so would he be half human?" Matt questioned aloud.

"Good question. Maybe you can ask Dnortih what exactly we are when we get to Spira." Ryan opened the door and motioned them inside. "As it stands now, we need to find a portal to Spira."

"Done." Auron pointed to a giant forest on a map of Japan. "The portal is in the middle of this forest."

Sakura's face paled. "That's the forest of death. You can't seriously expect me to go in there! The place is haunted!"

"No, it's infested by fiends." Auron corrected. "And fiends are not a problem."

"Unless some Sinspawn got through. Then we could run into some problems." Auron waved Ryan's comment away.

"Not possible. They died when we killed Sin. Even if one did get through, it would've dissipated into pyreflies by now."

"Well that's good to know." Matt muttered. "Any other complaints, Sakura-san?"

"You guys are insane, you know that, right?"

Matt laughed. "Yeah, we know. How many people would willingly fight the strongest god ever?"

"This is going to be a long trip." Sakura muttered in a defeated voice.

"Okay, we leave tomorrow." Matt told them. "So rest up. It's gonna be a long time before we get to sleep well again." Sakura and Nick moaned and immediately headed for the bedrooms. "We might have to keep an eye on Nick."

"Don't worry about that. I am." Ryan commented. "Think we've got everything we need?"

"Well, Bokuzen-san's shop is still open." The two grinned. "Modifications?"

"Of course. Auron, keep your eyes… eye, on Nick." Ryan said as the two ran out the door. Auron watched the empty door for a few seconds before smiling.

'At least they're good at fighting.' He was sure he could trust them with Spira's safety… for now.

888

"Bokuzen-san! You still here?" Ryan banged on the door. The deceptively fragile looking old man walked out, saw them, and ran over to the door. For several second the sounds of locks being undone broke the calm night's air before the door opened.

"Ryan-san, Matt-san. What can I do for you now? The outfits will be at your door tomorrow, and you were going to pick up the weapons tomorrow morning."

"Well, we actually came to see if we could modify some of the stuff before we got it."

Bokuzen-san looked at them for a second before smiling. "Kids after my own heart. Very well, I've got lots of equipment, poisons, and the likes. Lets see if we can't fit your needs, hmmm?" The teens smiled and walked into the shop. "So did you have anything particular in mind?"

"Nothing a mortal could do." Matt said cryptically as the dropped down to Bokuzen-san's weapon storage room. "Of course, we're going to try anyway."

"If you say so. Just remember, you already bought the stuff. It's not my fault if you break or ruin it."

"Always worried about your business, Bokuzen-san. Don't worry, we've still go 50 thousand dollars, I think we're safe."

"Matt-san, if you still have 50 thousand dollars, I hope you _do _destroy some of the stuff." The three shared a laugh before settling in for a long night.

"Okay, lets start with the gauntlet things." Bokuzen-san pulled two pairs out and set them down in front of the teens. "I was thinking have a knife that pops out over the hand when you tap the bottom of the gauntlet. Think you can do it?"

"That old trick? Of course, it's not that hard. Shouldn't take more then a half hour." The two teens looked at him and smiled.

"Maybe this won't take so long after all." Matt said with a chuckle.

888

Bokuzen-san glanced at the clock. "You two should get home. It's already three in the morning. I'll have the rest of the modifications done by the time you get the stuff, so go back home." The two nodded and yawned. "Good, now get. I need to work." Ryan threw 2 thousands dollars on the desk. "Well, now I'll _really _have to make sure I do a good job." The two nodded and left.

"Think he'll get it all done?" Matt asked as they walked down the shadow filled streets. "I mean, do you think he can even stay awake much longer?"

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see. After all, if not, we can always take a couple hundred bucks back, right?"

"True." Matt admitted as they started through the forest. The bushes rustled halfway through, and they caught the reflection of a small blade out of the corner of their eyes. 'Wonderful, more dumb asses.' Three guys stepped onto the path in front of the teens.

"Little early for a stroll through the park, don't you think?" Two guys stepped onto the path behind Matt and Ryan. "Could be a little dangerous for a couple of little guys like you, ya know?"

"Little?" The two shook their heads. "They just keep getting dumber, don't they?" Ryan nodded in agreement.

"Look you little shits, just give us all yer money and accessories and we'll let you leave with all your bones intact."

"Try it." Matt challenged.

"What?" The man they could only assume was the leader glanced around in confusion. "Try it? You serious."

"Why not, we need something to do before we end up sleepwalking home." Ryan said through a yawn. The men behind them charged in, yelling something too fast for the two to understand. Matt elbowed the first guy in the face, and the man slammed into the ground with a bloody nose and didn't make any attempt to get back up. Ryan ducked under the knife thrust and kicked the guy's legs out from under him. He rolled backwards to avoid the knife the man tried to stab him with and pushed off the ground as hard as he could, easily flipping over behind the leader. Matt stepped on the fallen gangster's hand and pushed until he heard a satisfying crunch and scream of pain, at which point he bent down and picked up the knife.

"You know, playing with a knife can be dangerous." He flung it into the bushes to his left and a man fell out clutching his eye. "You could put someone's eye out with one."

"You bastard!" The leader pulled out a gun and spun around to face Ryan while his thugs took care of Matt. "Go to hell!" He felt something cold against his back and froze.

"Now you wouldn't be talking to my friend, would you?" Matt asked so calmly Ryan shivered. "And next time, don't try to kill someone you can't kill. You'll live longer." He stabbed the man in the arm and pushed him to the ground. "See ya later."

"You're just gonna let us go? How do you know we won't come back for revenge?" A ring of electricity jumped between them and Matt smiled evilly.

"By all means, if you don't mind being electrocuted to death, do try."

"And believe me. It hurts, I know that better then _anyone _else on the planet." Ryan added as the electricity died away.

888

Auron answered the door and found only four duffle bags sitting there. Without hesitating he picked up all four with one hand, wondered what was in them for a second, and then walked in. Twenty minutes later the door rang again and a soldier handed four book bags that were filled to the top with all kinds of grenades and explosives. 'This is going to be an interesting trip.' He thought as he put them down, more gently then the duffel bags, in the same spot.

"Hey, our stuff is here." Matt commented as he picked up one of the book bags. He tested the weight and smiled. "Well, the sergeant came through after all." He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of one of the side pockets and put them on. "Ryan, time to haul ass! Get up."

The angel walked out and smiled at the sight of the bags. "Works for me." A small bolt of static raced into Nick's room and into Sakura's room. Two startled cries signified that they'd woken up.

"Matt, what the hell is wrong with you! It's only six in the morning!" Nick yelled as his door flew open up. "What the hell is with those bags?"

Matt threw Ryan a duffle bag with the second set of modified equipment. "Take your pick. They've got lots of stuff from our ninja gear to our military gear."

"Ninja gear? Military gear? What, are you guys planning on going to war or something?" Sakura asked as she walked into the room while combing her hair.

"You could say that. After all, we're going to stop the fiends from coming, right? No sense in not being prepared for anything." Sakura yawned.

"Any time for breakfast?" Ryan threw her a granola bar and shouldered one of the book bags. "Let's go." Nick and Sakura sighed and hefted their burdens. "This is _really _going to be a long few days."

888

"So this is the big, scary, fiend infested forest we have to get through?" Nick asked when they got out of the bus they'd gotten on. "Doesn't look that bad."

"It's a two day hike to the center of the forest where the portal is." Auron told them. "Let's go."

"Translation, Nick, is that it's going to take at least three days with all the fiends." Sakura and Nick sighed and followed their three, less worried friends into the forest. The group spent the next three days were spent running from groups of fiends, sleeping in the tops of trees, and teaching Sakura and Nick the basics of magic. Despite the fact that she was a god, Sakura found she wasn't as good with magic as Nick was, who showed surprising potential but little desire.

"This is it. The portal I used to come here." Auron told them as they walked into a clearing with a bright yellow tree.

"That's a screwed up tree." Ryan muttered as he looked at the bright light in the near-pitch black forest. "Any idea where it'll lead us?"

"Gagazet."

"Damn." Matt muttered as he put down his pack and pulled out a pair of blankets. "Nick, Sakura-san, catch." He threw them the blankets. "Gagazet's the coldest place in Spira. You're gonna want them so you don't freeze."

"What about you two? You've only got sweatshirts." Nick pointed out.

"Ryan and me did this two years ago, we'll be fine." Nick and Sakura shrugged as Matt reset his pack and picked up his gore-covered axe. "Well then, shall we?"

"Just walk into." The group nodded and walked into the tree. They disappeared from Auron's sight in a bright flash that nearly blinded him.

* * *

well there we go. a little slow, yeah, and not lots of fighting. wait until the next chapter. it's going to get a lot better. 


	2. Reunion

muwahahahahahah! chapter 1! well, chapter 2 i guess, but who cares? well now, lets get on to the reviews so you can read the chapter! this is going to include the reveiws for the epilouge of 2 Fallen Gods and a Guardian Angel since i forgot to add them to the prolouge...

Auron's Fan- Yes, the part with the president was funny. but, hey, matt, ryan, and andy are very straight forward and blunt when they're annoyed. as for andy, he's got some... problems this time around. if you want an idea of what i mean go read the full summary for 2 Fallen Gods, i believe i mention something about it in there. and, yes, auron is on earth despite the fact that he was sent. that'll be explained later on too. along with why i had to hurt andy. and yes, the prolouge was long. very long. i think it was 32 pages... none of my chapters are gonna be under 30 pages this time 'round. oh, and THANK YOU! finally someone noticed that i screwed up with the gods names. only vena came out right ;P i typed the english words into the al bhed box of my translator and then took the english translation of the word. when i realized it, it was too late to change the names. i was debating whether or not to say anything, but i figured i'd wait and see how long it took someone to notice. so yeah, Usi what you get if you use ice as an al bhed word. the real names should've been Selraym (Lusniec; Michael), Ela (Usi; ice), Fydan (Zedih; water), andDrihtan (Dnortih; thunder). and yes, the ice goddess is a girl. and yes, she kicks ass (wait till you see her at the end of the chapter). and i will review your story, i just really wanted to get this chapter up.

Liina-chan- wow... your dad had to kick you off 'cause of 2 Fallen Gods? and then you started to read when you woke up again? that's a compliment, thank you. and yes, i didn't want ryan andy or matt to know about spira. too many stories do that. and yes, the ice goddess is... well, a girl. and she fights in the end of the chapter. i think you'll all be impressed.

Sephirothxx- yeah, the epilouge had a lot of fighting in it, didn't it? and as for mr. riles, well, you know. as for auron getting to earth, that'll be explained at the end of this book. and yes, ryan doesn't kill anyone unless he has to. and yes, we had to find someone to replace you. and, as for me having plans for nick, i have one thing to say to you: possibly.

Lightning Wizard- yeah, the school scene was fun to write, but the group likes to go 'invisible' remember? besides, knowing the police around here, they'd have been arrested if they'd stuck around. yeah, ryan and matt made modifications to their weapons. but most of the gear's going to be lost throughout the story, so don't get _too _attached to it. some stuff will stay tho. and don't worry, Return of the Gods should be every bit as good as 2 Fallen Gods, maybe even better.

BOrn-Slippy- hate to say it, but you're the only one that mentioned the epilouge being hard to follow. and yeah, i know you like my story so don't worry 'bout it. and don't worry, ryan gets... humbled,i think that'd be a good word for it... yes, humbled, in this chapter. as for andy, he'll be there, just wait. he's got a rather... special part to play in book 2. and no, it doesn't have the makings of a great trilogy because there's FOUR books instead of three. it's got the makings of a great series. but the fact that you think its got the makings to be great is still kool, so thank you.

Da Ker MysTeRr- yep, book 2 is here! and yes, lusniec is a gay psychopath that's pretty kool aside from being a gay psychopath. and thank you, people don't believe that i write well.

labrat-seph- wow, being able to predict books _does _suck. glad to know i'm not alone. comes with writing a lot tho... and yes, andy WILL be back in spira. he's got the most important role in the plot, it would litteraly fall to pieces without him. how, you may ask? well, if you figure it out put it in a review and i'll tell you your wrong so it won't ruin the story for you! but it's discovered pretty early anyway. when that happens everyone will understand why he isn't in the story yet.

Shadow Beastl- thank you, i'm glad you think my story's excellent.

Plum-chan- andy'll be in spira eventually. and as for sakura actually speaking english in spira, that comes up in this chapter for a few seconds.

and that's all, so lets read and reveiw people!

* * *

Reunion

"We're back." Ryan's voice was filled with a disbelieving note. "I can't believe it. We shouldn't have been here for another year." Matt nodded in agreement and then looked around to make sure that no fiends were sneaking up on them. It'd been two hours since they'd passed through the portal, but Nick and Sakura were still lying on the ground unconscious.

"Good thing I gave them blankets." The sound of snow crunching, just barely loud enough for them to hear, alerted the two to someone trying to sneak up on them. "Wonder where all the fiends are." Matt's question covered the sound of him and Ryan standing up. "Normally we'd have had seven or eight battles by now."

"Good question." Ryan admitted as he drew Wind Cutter, sheath and all, out of its holder. They scanned the area while continuing to talk as if nothing was wrong. A bit of snow dropped down onto Matt he spun around. There was a snap and some wood went flying past his face.

'Wood? Did Gagazet get new fiends on it? Or was that man-made?' His lone of thought was broken when Ryan burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Lil' boy blue! Oh my god, I never thought I'd see you again!" Ryan said as he put Wind Cutter back in its holder. "How've things been these past two years?"

"Kimahri not know sphere hunters. Leave sacred mountain or Kimahri make leave." The proud Ronso warrior ordered.

"Hey, its us! Matt and Ryan!" Kimahri started to growl at them.

"Hey Matt. Just a thought, but old blue might not recognize us after two years. And don't forget, Andy was supposed to come, but he disappeared, remember?" Matt felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. "But it looks like he's a smart as ever, that's for sure."

"Meaning what?" Matt asked as he ducked under a kick.

"We're surrounded by Ronso warriors."

"Damn it! Lil' boy blue, what the hell are you doing?" Kimahri snarled and shot a wave of fire out of his breath. Matt rolled out of the way, but lost his footing as the snow melted into water. 'Not good.' Matt grabbed one of Kimahri's clawed feet and pulled it out from under him. The two went sliding down the slope in a jumble of blue fur, claws, fists, teeth, roars, and grunts of pain. When they stopped Matt rolled away from his ferocious friend and found more then a few rivers of blood running down his arms and legs. "Shit, you're really serious about this aren't you blue."

"Kimahri will defend Kimahri's home!" Kimahri took a deep breath and prepared to use another of his special attacks, but a scream from Sakura halted the fight.

"Damn it!" Matt yelled as he sprinted past Kimahri. Two Ronso warriors came flying through the air and landed behind him with thuds of pain. "Ryan! What the hell are you… Sakura!" The girl was pinned down by three of the largest Ronso Matt had ever seen while Ryan stood much calmer then he should have from a distance.

"Move and girl dies!" The Ronso leaning on Sakura's shoulders flexed his clawed fingers and gave the thunder god a fang-filled grin.

'Geez Kimahri, ready for an all out war or something?' Matt wondered as he set Lightning Edge down slowly. "Ok big guy, just calm down. Don't do anything hasty now."

"Matt-san." Sakura whispered as tears started to gather in her eyes.

Matt swallowed, knowing that sooner or later either Ryan or himself was going to have to do something. He glanced over at Ryan and found his friend's attention wavering. 'What a time to be daydreaming.'

Apparently one of the Ronso agreed since she stepped forward and punched him in the face. Ryan's head snapped to the side and a few drops of blood hit the snow. "Pay attention. Kimahri tribe elder. Kimahri will decided fate now."

"Wonderful." Ryan said with a laugh and Matt found himself wondering why his friend would be drawing so much bad attention during such a situation. Then it hit him.

Nick. Since so much attention had been focused on Sakura, the teen had snuck away. But what was he doing? 'Come on Nick. We need something amazing.'

An explosion sounded through the mountain. "Avalanche!" one of the Ronso yelled. All eyes on the mountain followed the Ronso's finger to a wave of snow rolling down towards them. The Ronso exploded into motion, and were far away from the three teens in the blink of an eye. Except for one. Kimahri came bounding across the snow in a few strides, scooped up Sakura, who had passed out at the sight of an avalanche, and turned to head back.

"Elder Kimahri!" one of the younger looking Ronso tried to head back but was held back by an older Ronso who had a sad look on his face. "Elder Kimahri, look out!" The snow beneath Kimahri's foot slipped away and the he threw Sakura's body up towards his fellow Ronso even as he slipped off the face of the mountain. The Ronso howled in horror as Kimahri disappeared over the edge of their sacred mountain.

"Ryan!" Matt yelled as he grabbed all their bags and threw up a dome of thunder. Snow melted away as it washed over him. 'Man, it's going to suck getting out of this.'

Ryan went over the cliff with his wings already halfway out. "Kimahri! Hang on!" Feather floated gently in the air behind him as he plummeted towards the falling Ronso with both hands outstretched. As he reached Kimahri he smiled slightly at the amazed look on the Ronso's face, but quickly grabbed one of his arms. "Hang on!" Kimahri nodded as Ryan flew away from the wall and the avalanche.

888

'Too cold.' Matt thought as he sat in his dome of electricity, waiting for someone to come and dig him out. It'd already been five minutes. "Screw this." His shield shrunk until it was just barely big enough to go around him. "Hope nobody's above me!" The lightning shot straight up, melting snow in its path. Matt looked up and sighed. "Great, it's at least ten feet."

A rope dropped down the hole. "Hey, thanks for the signal. What kept you from doing that earlier?" Nick asked from somewhere outside of Matt's limited view. Matt shook his head as he pulled himself up. When he reached the top he found that both he and Nick were in a ring of angry looking Ronso. "Like I said, what kept you from doing that earlier?"

"If I had known you had made so many friend's I'd have come to the party earlier." Matt shrugged. "Sorry."

"Just tell them that we aren't here to fight." Nick said in Japanese.

"You just blew up their leader." Matt replied in Japanese as well. "There isn't going to be much talking."

"Humans kill Kimahri! Ronso avenge Elder Kimahri! Ronso kill humans!" A trickle of sweat started down Matt's neck again, and his worries multiplied when a Ronso stepped forward with an unconscious Sakura. "Why you protect human from Ronso?" One of them demanded of the Ronso who was now walking towards Matt and Nick. "They kill Elder Kimahri. Ronso must avenge death of Elder Kimahri!"

"Elder Kimahri save this human instead of himself. Ronso will not hurt girl!" The Ronso who had formed a circle around the humans roared at the lone Ronso who was standing in front of Matt. "Take human."

"Well at least you've still got _your _honor." Matt said just loud enough for the rest of the Ronso to hear. "Unlike the rest of your friends." The comment caused one of the smaller Ronso, although he still stood more then two feet taller then Matt, charge in a blind rage. It went to punch Matt but the thunder god spun on his left foot. As the Ronso flew past him Matt slammed it in the back of the head, and it fell to the ground unconscious. The Ronso who had formed a circle around him just stared in surprise. "Any other takers?"

The ring of Ronso roared in anger and began to tighten around the group. "You really just had to ask, didn't you? I would have liked to have seen some of the girls from here while I was alive, you know?"

"Then come back as an unsent." Matt muttered as storm clouds started to form in the sky above them. "But for the moment, I suggest both of you get down." Nick said something but it was drown out by the sound of a thunderbolt slamming into the snow in front of him. "Like I said, get down." He turned slowly to take in the confused looks on the Ronso who had stopped advancing. "And I suggest all of you let us go without any more trouble."

"Yeah, because lightning bolts hurt. Especially when coming from the god of thunder." All eyes shot up and found Ryan and Kimahri above them. "And Matt, next time you form a thunder storm, form it around a _small _area. We nearly got hit by three bolts just trying to get back." Kimahri dropped down into the circle with Matt.

"Ronso halt! No kill humans, humans friends of Kimahri!" The Ronso ring dispersed as Ryan landed next to them. "Kimahri sorry. Friends say three years, but only been two."

"Yeah, we got a run of good luck. But, uh, what's with the war band?" Matt motioned to the Ronso who were lingering in case the humans decided to attack Kimahri. "Having some fiend problems?"

Kimahri nodded. "Yes. Fiends attack many Ronso who return badly hurt. Now Sphere Hunters pillage sacred mountain of Ronso for spheres and hurt Ronso who get in way."

"Sphere Hunters? You mean people who hunt these?" Ryan pulled out his sphere and Kimahri nodded.

"Sphere Hunters hunt old sphere. Say old spheres worth much gil. Say sacred mountain full of old Spheres." He pointed to the top of the mountain. "Say many spheres lay in ruins at top of mountain."

"So you're having problems with humans and fiends. Well at least I get why the Ronso attacked now." Matt looked down at the Ronso he'd knocked out when he moved. "Guess it's a good thing I held back."

"Oh yeah, what's with the title 'Elder', Kimahri?" The Ronso folded his arms across chest.

"Kimahri tribe Elder. Kimahri run tribe now." The two stared at him.

"That's great, Kimahri! I'm glad you found some more Ronso." Kimahri nodded and then motioned to Sakura and Nick.

"Kimahri not know."

"Oh yeah, sorry Lil' Boy Blue. That one, the one that caused the avalanche, is Nick. He likes to find… explosive… solutions to problems." Matt picked Sakura up gently. "And this is Sakura. She's the goddess of ice." Kimahri nodded again. "But at the moment, we're all cold and wet."

"Kimahri take friends to Ronso village."

"Guess we'll have to come back for the gear then." Ryan said as they started down the mountain towards the Ronso village.

888

Warmth was the first sensation that came to Sakura's mind as she started to wake up. The first realization she had was that her back was colder then the rest of her body. Slowly she began to realize other things, like the fact that she was lying on something that was hard, and dry.

She moaned and sat up slowly. "Where am I?"

"You're up. That's good." She looked to her left and found Matt sitting across from her, watching her over a fire. "We're at the Ronso camp."

"Ronso? What's a Ronso?"

"Those blue lions that you attacked earlier." Sakura's face paled. "Don't worry. We're not in any trouble, or danger. Hell, they even made us a tee-pee." He spread his hands out. Sakura looked around and finally understood why she wasn't being snowed on anymore. "And Ryan and I know the leader of this particular tribe. As long as you don't attack anymore Ronso," he smiled slightly, "we'll be fine."

"Where are Ryan-san, and Nick-san?"

"Ryan and Nick go with Ronso hunters. Bring back food and kill fiends." Kimahri told them as he walked in. Sakura paled slightly, but otherwise made no move to back away. "Friends agree to help Ronso protect mountain from fiends and Sphere Hunters."

"So they're gone then?" Kimahri nodded and Matt laid down. "That's good." Kimahri got up and left silently. "So how're you doing over there?"

"Fine." Matt looked at her and knew from her face that she was lying. "Decent." She paused for a few seconds. "Scared and miserable."

"What're you scared of? You haven't seen _anything _yet." She looked at him. "I'm not going to lie to you, Sakura-san. There's going to be stuff here that's a hundred times worse then anything you've ever seen before."

"Then how do you expect me to _not _be scared!" Matt propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her.

"Sakura, the most terrifying person in Spira is me." She looked at him oddly. "Actually, there's one other person, but he tends to not get involved unless it benefits him. At least that's the image he tries to keep up, but inside he's a decent guy. Wonder what he's up to." Sakura cleared her voice and Matt smiled. "Seph, the other guy, and myself are the scariest people in Spira. We're both gods, and we've both got a grip on our powers. You'll get there, but it's going to take awhile. And, while Ryan's scary at times," Sakura snorted in disbelief and Matt smiled as he continued, "he'll never have the chance to reach the same level the gods can when it comes to magic, and I'll always be as good as him physically. On top of all that he's getting in-between his friends and attacks that _should _kill him, but never seem to. So you see, you've got the strongest, fastest, deadliest, and scariest people in Spira as your allies. You and Nick haven't got a thing to fear."

"What have I gotten myself into?" Sakura moaned as she laid back down.

"Don't worry about it. We've beaten Yu Yevon without you before, we'll do it again."

"Then why the hell do I have to be here!" Sakura's hands clenched and unclenched. "If you don't need me, and you loved Spira so much, why didn't you just stay here!"

"Do you want to know the truth?" She glared at him and he sat up. "To say "we" beat him once before isn't entirely true. It was me and the fire god."

"What about Ryan? He was there, wasn't he?"

Matt smiled slightly. "He was dead." Her face paled. "Yu Yevon had two forms, but we didn't know it. After we destroyed his first form we thought the fight was over and we were getting ready to leave." He closed his eyes and remembered watching in horror as Yu Yevon snapped Ryan's neck. "That's when it happened, the one time that Ryan didn't survive. Yu Yevon's true form just appeared out of thin air, grabbed him by the back of the neck and squeezed. Inside Sin, with all that empty room, the sound of his neck snapping seemed impossibly loud. Andy and me lost it. We tapped into our true powers for the first time and deep fried the bastard."

"Ryan's alive, how could he be here if he died last time you were here?"

"As it turns out, instead of going to the after life like he should have, Ryan's soul was transported to the realm where Lusniec lives. Lusniec and Ryan don't normally see eye to eye, and even had a death match that ended in Lusniec getting cut in half, but divine beings don't die so easily. And if it weren't for that fact, Ryan wouldn't be here. Apparently he convinced Lusniec, by what means I'm truly afraid to know, to bring him back. And Lusniec did, although neither of them would say why." Matt looked over at the fire and saw it was starting to die down. "Well, I'd better get some wood before you freeze." Sakura glanced over at the pile of wood as Matt walked out of the tee-pee. It was enough for another three days.

888

"Well, that's the last one." Ryan said as he flew the last bag up through the hole Matt had made in the snow. Although the two had come expecting to have to dig everything out of the avalanche, whatever Matt had done had frozen the ice in a circle around the bags. "And with that, we get to head back to the camp."

"Hey Ryan, you and Matt and Andy are heroes here, right?"

"Well, we were part of a group that killed Sin for good, so I suppose so. Whether or not people know what Matt and me did in specific, I'm not sure. That would depend on what Yuna told the public." He handed Nick both his bags. "I guess we'll find out when we're done helping out Kimahri."

"So a lot of people are gonna be trying to be friendly to you, aren't they?" Ryan shrugged.

"They would on Earth, yeah, but Spira's different when it comes to stuff like that. They'll show us more respect then they'll show you or a normal person, but will they try to pretend to be our friends? Probably not, not unless they've got something they need us to do."

"Hey, Ryan. You forgot something." Nick pointed to a darker blue in the small hole. Ryan jumped down the hole and found himself staring at a short sword. He grabbed it and flew out of the tunnel. "Another sword?"

Ryan pulled it out of the sheath and a small piece of paper fell out of it. Ryan bent down and looked at the paper, which had a single word written on it. "Shinagami."

"Shinagami?" Nick took the paper and just shook his head. "What the hell does 'Shinagami' mean?"

"Shinagami's the Japanese god of death, I think." Nick looked at him like he was crazy.

"So the Japanese god of death just randomly decided to give you a short sword?" Ryan sheathed his new sword.

"Actually, I think it's just the sword's name." He opened his duffel bag and made some room for it. "But for now, lets just get back to the camp. I'm starting to freeze."

888

"Matt, we found something odd earlier." Ryan said as he watched the violent thunderstorm with his friend. He produced Shinagami from under his cloak and tossed it over to his friend. "It came with a note."

Matt caught the short sword and examined it. "What'd the note say?"

"Shinagami." Matt pulled the sword out of its sheath and ran a calloused finger over the blade. When he pulled it away a line of blood was slowly making its way down his finger.

"Sharp." He commented. "And it doesn't seem like its been here for long either. The sheath looks like it was just made a little while ago." Ryan nodded as Matt threw the sword back to him.

"There's something else you should see." He set the naked short sword on his lap and laid the sheath on the ground next to him. Next he pulled out Wind Cutter and drew the legendary weapon. Instantly both blades started to glow, Wind Cutter its normal gentle silver and Shinagami a deep, almost back, purple. He slammed Wind Cutter back into its sheath and then put Shinagami back as well. "Either they were meant to be together, or they were meant to stay apart and they just haven't been unsheathed long enough for us to notice that."

"So where'd you find it?"

"Nick noticed it after we'd gotten all the equipment out. I swear, it wasn't there when I first went down."

Matt closed his eyes as a bolt of lightning slammed into him. "It wasn't there when I left either." Ryan nodded.

"Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that." The two watched the storm for a few minutes before Ryan broke the straining silence. "I think it was one of the gods, or Lusniec." Matt nodded in agreement. It did, after all, give off the same feeling of power that all the legendary weapons had given off. "So, what do you think it means?'

"How the hell should I know?" Ryan shrugged as a lightning bolt caused pyreflies to start leaking out of the ground a ways of to their left, the small fire-fly like creatures standing out in the darkness. "Could be that someone thought you'd need it. Could be a trap. Could be it really was meant to be with Wind Cutter, or it could be meant for someone else, and you're just being used as a carrier. You know how crazy things get when higher powers are involved."

"Yeah, and we just have to go along for the ride." Ryan pointed out in a defeated voice.

888

Sakura found herself struggling to understand what had happened to her. She'd know that her whole world would change when she got to Spira, but she'd never expected to meet a blue furred, bipedal lion, none the less an entire tribe of them. And who was the guy with the kimono and silver hair that was starting to show up in her dreams? Should she tell Matt-san, Nick-san, and Ryan-san about him? And who was the girl that looked like an older version of herself that had appeared and just listened to everything Sakura had needed to get off her chest? And where was she now when Sakura felt like she was on the edge of a mental break down once again.

She checked her watch and found it was two in the morning. "I've been here for two weeks, and it still feels so strange. I'm living on a frozen mountain, in a tee-pee with three guys that I barely know, one of whom claims to be a god, one who claims to be an angel, and one who just loves to blow stuff up. Not to mention that the tee-pee is in the middle of a Ronso village." She bit her lip and struggled against the tears building up in her eyes. "I just want to get this over with and go home, why are we sitting around like this?" She wiped her eyes and threw on a sweatshirt.

Although she noticed the temperature difference when she walked outside she found that, despite the fact that even some of the Ronso who lived here were shivering, she was fine. In her half dazed state it barely registered, nonetheless seemed odd to her. She jogged away from camp a little and sat down on a cliff that she went to whenever she wanted to have some privacy. Although Matt-san and Ryan-san had pointed it out to her, and had even suggested the place as a retreat for her if she needed it, she found that neither of them ever bothered her even when they knew she was there.

"Sakura not safe on mountain." Sakura stiffened at the sound of Kimahri's voice. She'd been thinking so hard that she'd completely missed him coming up the gravel and snow filled path. "Can Kimahri sit?"

"Sure, Kimahri-sama." She moved over so the Ronso could sit down next to her, interested in the fact that he was talking to her. For the past two weeks he, or some other Ronso, had watched over her whenever she'd gone for walks in the nearby area. They'd always given her enough room to give her more then enough privacy and space, but whenever a fiend appeared they were on it in a few heartbeats. And as soon as it was gone, the Ronso would go back to where he'd been before the fiend had appeared.

"Sakura scared?"

"A little, Kimahri-sama. It's got nothing to do with you, its just…" she trailed off as she thought about Earth.

"Sakura miss home." She nodded. "Kimahri remember when first meet Matt and Ryan. Thought they were weak, useless. Ryan, Matt, Tidus, and Andy beat Kimahri with trick, and not true talent." Sakura looked up at the proud warrior as he continued. "Later, Kimahri see them use other tricks to win fights. Kimahri think they were too weak to fight, then group meet up with Sinspawn. Ryan rip up ground with sword, and later two kill Sinspawn and save group. After that Kimahri watch them closer and see they were strong."

"How so? At that point they didn't have many of their powers, and weren't all that strong, right?" Kimahri nodded.

"Matt, Andy, and Ryan not have much physical strength at time, but still as strong as rest of group. Kimahri took long time to realize. Andy, Matt, and Ryan smart, and kind, and put heart and soul into everything that Matt, Ryan, and Andy do. Ryan, Andy, and Matt still put heart and soul into everything Andy, Matt, and Ryan do. Sakura put heart and soul into everything Sakura do, Sakura will be strong like Matt, Ryan, and Andy."

"Yeah, they put everything they had into everything they did. But you all did. And besides, to be honest, I don't even want to be here. I miss my mom, and Kenji nii-chan, and all my friends from Earth. And if I don't forget about them or get over being home sick, I'll never be as strong as them. And if I don't forget about going home, I'll never be brave enough to fight with them."

"Kimahri know Sakura wrong."

"What do you mean by that, Kimahri-sama?"

"Kimahri know why Ryan, Andy, and Matt put heart and soul into everything two years ago." He tapped Sakura's chest and then her head. "Andy, Matt, and Ryan not want to die so Matt, Ryan, and Andy can see home again. Desire to go home gave Ryan, Andy, and Matt strength to keep going." Sakura smiled slightly. "If Sakura forget about going home, Sakura will never be as strong as Sakura could be."

'The desire to go home. They kept that in their hearts and head, and that was enough to get them through everything they went up against.' Sakura wiped away a tear and sighed.

"Kimahri glad Matt and Ryan home again. Kimahri's friends will be glad to see Ryan and Matt again."

Sakura looked at Kimahri with open confusion. "Did you just say 'home'?" Kimahri nodded. "Kimahri-sama, their home is Earth, just like me and Nick."

This time Kimahri shook his head. "Sakura not leave sacred mountain yet, so Sakura not see what Matt, Ryan, and Andy saw two years ago. Ryan fell in love with Rikku, and Ryan regretted leaving. Matt and Andy never fit in on Earth, but all three fit in on Spira. All three found Spira was true home, not Earth."

"Ryan-san fell in love?" Kimahri nodded. "Well that's something I didn't know." Kimahri picked up his spear and stood up.

"Kimahri glad Sakura not fear Ronso now. Kimahri like Sakura." With that he turned and walked back down the path to the Ronso camp.

'Or maybe just the end of the path, so he can watch over me like he always does.' She smiled at the thought of any of the Ronso warriors trying to hide behind a tree like people tended to do in cartoons. 'Well, its not home, but maybe Spira's not so bad.'

888

Kimahri walked over to the sphere-com that was in the village. Yuna had asked him to put the little device in so that he could stay in touch with everyone, and he planned to use it to call her. 'Matt and Ryan stay on sacred mountain too much already. Need to see friends other then Kimahri.' With a determined grunt he turned the little device on. For a few seconds there was just static, but Yuna's voice came on after a few seconds.

"Hey everyone. Sorry, but I'm not here right now, so please leave a message. I miss you all, so make sure you keep in touch!" The machine beeped.

"Kimahri need to talk to Yuna. Kimahri find sphere on top of sacred mountain. Kimahri thought Yuna should know." He turned the machine off with a clawed toe and turned around just in time to see Sakura walking back into camp.

"Kimahri-sama, how much stronger do you think I'll have to get to be useful?"

"Kimahri not know. Kimahri not seen Sakura fight worthy foe." The girl nodded absently and walked back into the tee-pee for a few seconds. When she came back out she was twirling a pair of Tonfas, watching the one in her right hand intensively.

"Hey, Kimahri-sama," a small smile started to play across her face. "Think you're a worthy foe?"

888

"Matt, get up." The thunder god muttered a string of curses in a combination of English, Spanish, Japanese, Al Bhed and Italian as he sat up. "Check that out." He pointed towards the door to the tee-pee. The sound of wood hitting wood caused Matt to wake up slightly quicker then he normally would have. He peeked out the door and the first thing he noticed was that the sun wasn't up.

'Great, he woke me up before the sun came up.' Another series of wooden collisions drew his attention to the right where he saw Sakura and Kimahri sparring.

"Check out her eyes when she goes by." Ryan whispered when Matt ducked in to avoid being seen. When the sound of footsteps were lighter he looked back out again, this time trying to see Sakura's eyes without being seen. It was difficult to see anything clearly for more then a splint second as the two whirled, spun, jumped and countered attacks. When he did his eyes widened.

'So different from when she fought with me.' He pulled his head back into the tent and sat down. "What happened to her? Her eyes are totally different from when she fought me."

"I can't say I knew that much, but I did notice they were a lot different then normal." He drummed on the ground with his knuckles. "Its like she wasn't focusing before, and she is now, or something like that."

"Yeah, when she fought me she was enjoying herself and I think she thought she was better then me. If she did, then she was probably just messing around. But now… damn…"

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Nick threw the bag he'd been using as a pillow at them. Matt caught it and smiled slightly as Nick went back to bed.

"Hey, Ryan." His friend stopped his drumming and looked up. "Maybe its time we started working out, eh?" Ryan's eye twitched.

"You mean the pull-ups that Auron used to do, don't you?" Matt smiled. "I hate you." Matt grabbed a kunai and cut the handles off of a duffle bag. He threw one to Ryan who was already on his way out of the tee-pee. The sound of Kimahri and Sakura sparring faded as Ryan revealed himself.

"Morning, Sakura-san. Morning, Kimahri." He stifled a yawn as Matt stepped out of the tee-pee.

"Where are you two going?" Sakura asked.

"To do some pull-ups." Matt replied as the two walked out of the camp. When they found a suitable over-hanging they tied the leather straps to the Kunai and threw the Kunai into the ice. They tested how well they were in, and when they were satisfied that their weight would be supported they wrapped their hands in the leather straps and started to pull themselves up.

888

Three hours later Sakura landed on her butt with a painful thud and rubbed her stomach. "Sakura strong, fast. Sakura need experience, not strength." She smiled despite the throbbing in her stomach and stood up slowly.

"Experience you?" Kimahri nodded. "Thanks, Kimahri-sama." She bowed to him, and he returned the bow, if somewhat awkwardly. "Oh, Kimahri-sama, one last thing. Could you not tell Ryan-san and Matt-san that I speak English, or Spirian, whatever it is I'm speaking now?" Kimahri nodded and then looked past her to where a small group of Ronso were talking to each other in confused and amazed voices. "Uh-oh, wonder what that's about."

Kimahri and Sakura walked up and over heard something about kids, three hours, and 400. "Kimahri find out what Ronso talk about." Sakura nodded and followed Kimahri as he made his way through the crowd, which broke in step behind Sakura. Not five minutes out of the town they found Ryan sitting on the ground, panting and covered in sweat and counting off as Matt continued to do pull ups.

"Matt-san, Ryan-san, what are you doing?" Ryan chuckled but continued to count. "Fine, ignore me then."

"He's not… ignoring you." Matt said without breaking his pace. "He's keeping count for me."

"But he just said 730…"

"Well we've been at it for about three hours, right?" Sakura laughed.

"You've been doing this for three hours? Sorry, Matt-san, but I have a hard time believing that." Mat snickered. "What?"

"I just have a hard time believing how different your eyes were when you were sparring with Kimahri, as compared to when you sparred with me." Sakura stared at him like he was crazy. "It's true. If all you could see were your eyes, someone would've sworn that you were two different people. So tell me, Ms. Kendo Team Captain, what got into you?"

Sakura giggled. "That's a secret." Matt rolled his eyes and dropped down. "So, how many did Ryan-san do?"

"489." Ryan said proudly, despite the fact that Matt had gotten almost 300 more then him.

"That's a new record for you, isn't it?" Ryan flipped his friend off and sat up. Thunder roared overhead despite the clear sky. "What the hell?"

Some of the Ronso growled at the unnatural sound. "Sphere Hunters pillage sacred mountain! Ronso protect sacred mountain!" Kimahri frowned slightly, knowing inwardly that it wasn't a normal group of Sphere Hunters.

'Kimahri protect Yuna.' He thought as he turned to his tribe. "Sphere Hunters want sphere. Kimahri send Kimahri friends to get sphere, bring sphere to Kimahri." Ryan and Matt chuckled. "Kimahri ask friends to stop Sphere Hunters for good."

"Doesn't look like we're being given a choice." Sakura said with a wry smile. "Go get your weapons."

"This could be a good time to try out some of that equipment." Matt pointed out as the three humans walked back to the camp. Nick threw his last bag at them as they walked in, but sat up when they told him to get ready.

"Where are we heading?"

"Not sure yet. We're chasing some Sphere Hunters. At least that's what the Ronso think they are." Matt pulled the metal gauntlets out of his back and marveled at their lightweight. When they'd first tested them, they'd shattered easily under the legendary weapons. Now Lightning Edge could barely put a dent in them, and Wind Cutter could barely scratch them. Sakura and Nick shook their heads at the sight of the armor they thought useless. 'Guess they haven't seen me and Ryan sparring in the morning.' Matt thought as he slipped the metal on. It was cold to the touch at first, but quickly absorbed some of his body heat.

Next he pulled out the belt. It had numerous compartments that Matt had filled with the exploding capsules, and four poison tipped throwing stars where the belt buckle should have been. Behind them was a mini stun gun that Bokuzen-san had developed for the Japanese government. They'd said it was simply too small to be used as anti-personal weapons, despite the fact that it had burned several men so badly that they'd lost the use of their hands. Or so Bokuzen-san had claimed. The back of the belt had a pair of poison tipped daggers that were literally built into the belt, and concealed by four removable pouches that appeared to be permanent.

Matt strapped it on and went back into the bag. The next item he pulled out a jacket that was wind resistant and had more hidden pockets then Matt thought he'd ever find uses for. He pulled his pair of sunglasses out of the front pocket and put them on. He cycled through the modes to make sure it wasn't someone else pair before he pulled out a new pair of boots. He slammed them onto the ground once and blades popped out of the toes. Another slam revealed the heel blades, and another caused them to pop back into place. He put them on and walked around the room and was glad that it took more then a little bit of pressure to active the blades. He started running and they still didn't activate. He reached into one of his belt compartments and pulled out his earpiece.

Next he pulled his backpack over and started to stash stun and flash bang grenades into some of the hidden pockets in his jacket, and a few of the healing potions the Ronso had given them. When he thought he had enough grenades and potions he grabbed a few of the Manriki chains that they'd gotten, still tied up, and hooked them to his belt. Satisfied that he had everything he could possibly need to test he glanced over and saw Ryan putting on his own pair of shoes. 'Guess with his speed the boots wouldn't cut it too well.' The sound of Sakura and Nick both chambering the first rounds of their guns signified that they were ready as well.

"Well then, lets go." Nick said with an eager voice.

888

Matt watched as the giant ship, for that's what Kimahri had them following, stop a couple hundred feet up the mountain. It sat there for a minute and then rose higher into the air.

"Wonder what it's doing." Nick muttered as the ship stopped again. "Think it needs to work out or something?"

"Maybe the pilots found something they didn't like where they wanted to land." Sakura suggested. "I mean, in Spira it is possible whatever they were coming for is guarded by a bunch of fiends, right?"

"Probably, if it's a sphere worth fighting over. If not, well, fiends are overrunning the mountain." An amused smile played across the angel's face. "Maybe something worth fighting."

"How do we even get up there?" Nick asked. "We've got a grappling hook, but it's not that long. And to be honest, I don't see that many ledges."

"We'll split into two groups. Ryan and Nick, you'll go straight up, let us know when you run into trouble. Sakura-san, you and me are going along the path. Hope you're up for a nice, long walk."

"A long walk on a beautiful mountain, with you?" She rolled her eyes dramatically and continued in the most sarcastic voice any of them had ever heard from her, "I'm so excited."

"Right. Let's go people, we've got Sphere Hunters to kick off the mountains." The two groups parted ways and headed their own ways to the top of the mountain.

888

"Well, Matt-san, its definitely a group of three." Sakura whispered as she cycled back to the normal view of her sunglasses. "They seem to be stuck on something, or because of something. Not sure what."

"Well that's good." Matt replied. "Maybe it'll give us some time to see just how dangerous they really are." The sound of metal scraping against metal at high speeds brought both of them completely out of the cover of the snow. "That can't be good." He switched to the infrared mode and found the three people dropping quickly down a shaft. "Damn it."

The two scrambled down the slope and rushed towards the ruins. A two-mile sprint over slippery snow and an uneven surface should've taken them almost ten minutes, but the two easily made it in three. "They're gone." Sakura noted when they reached the shaft, which they now recognized to be an elevator. "What now, Matt-san?"

Matt let out an amused chuckle. "Hope you've done some rock climbing." He said as he bent down to grab the edge of the rail.

"Do you always have to do stuff the hard way, Matt-san?" He looked up as Sakura, who was pointing to a glowing red button. "What does 'Nadinh' mean?"

Matt smiled slightly and stood up. "It's Al Bhed. It's a language native to Spira. You'll probably pick it up once we get back together with Rikku."

"Two things: First, you didn't answer my question, and second, what makes you so sure we'll meet up with this 'Rikku' person?" Matt smiled.

"That's right, Ryan hasn't mentioned her much, has he?" Sakura shook her head. "Being on Gagazet's been really painful for Ryan since he could go and find Rikku. They were dating before we had to come back to Earth" Sakura pointed at the words somewhat impatiently. "Ah, right. Nadinh… that would be… return, if I'm not mistaken." He tapped the button and the floor at the bottom of the shaft started to rise. "Well, that saves us a lot of work." The two stepped onto the elevator cautiously when it first stopped. When they were sure that it wouldn't just give out on them they walked over and pressed the button on the far side of the elevator. It lurched once before it dropped to the ground, the sound of metal scraping metal screamed all around them. After a few seconds the spark lit right came to a slamming stop that sent them both crashing to the ground.

"That wasn't much fun." Sakura muttered as they stood back up slowly.

"Welcome to Spira." Matt muttered as he looked at his arm where Lightning Edge had cut him. "You'll find we run into a lot of problems like that."

"Wonderful." The two continued to walk through the rundown ruins until they heard the sound of people's voice.

"Who's there?" The two froze at the question.

"Er, Leblanc. Remember that name well, loves!" Said another woman.

"Ah, the thief." The first voice said somewhat crossly.

'That voice sounds so familiar…' Matt's eyes widened with amusement as remembered where he'd heard the voice before. He patted the sphere Auron had given each of the gods when he'd showed up on Earth. "Yuna."

"Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her." A third person said in an annoyed, but familiar voice. He smiled this time, recognizing the voice immediately.

'Rikku. Well, Ryan's going to be happy.'

"You! I heard that!" This time Leblanc, whoever that was, sounded very pissed. "Just as I was saying: amateurs! They have no concept of what it takes to be a true Sphere Hunter."

"Amateurs? Weren't you the one following us?" A fourth woman asked in a voice that Matt didn't recognize. It was deeper then Rikku or Yuna's voices, and it held a bored tone that seemed too natural.

"Following? A mere coincidence." Leblanc said cockily. Matt smiled slightly at the obvious lie, and would have looked out to see who all was there but a pair of heavy feet came pounding along.

"You was right, boss, as always." Someone said in a deep, but stupid voice.

"Indeed, following them has paid off splendidly." Another guy said in a voice that was only slightly higher then the first guys.

Yuna, Rikku, and the person with them giggled at the comment. "What's going on, Matt-san?" Sakura asked, still pretending to not understand English. Matt held up a hand.

"Laugh while you can!" Matt sighed and turned to his friend.

"Okay, two of my friends are out there." A pair of guns was fired and Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Look, just kick the crap outta the guys, got it?" Sakura twirled her Tonfas and smiled uncertainly. 'Guess its understandable to be nervous. Someone out there has a pair of guns, not exactly a fair fight.' He set his second axe down. 'No need to let them know who I am just yet.'

He nodded to Sakura and turned around to where gunfire was blazing quickly now, and took a deep breath. He stepped out from behind the wall with a smile and all combat stopped for a split second. That was all he needed.

A bolt of lightning slammed into a fat guy, who barely his shield in front of him in time to avoid the full force of the attack. As he fell to the ground his tall, thin friend turned and pointed to revolvers at Matt. On earth that wouldn't have been a problem. On earth his electric shield would've absorbed the bullets left in the gun with ease.

But this wasn't earth. And this gun, Matt was forced to assume, wasn't going to be running out of ammunition any time soon. He grinned. 'This'll be fun.' The man opened fire on him as the fat guy hit the ground with a thud. Matt rolled to his left, away from everyone and out of the way of the bullets. He heard the smack of wood against a person, a sound he'd become very familiar with over the past two years. He glanced over and found the tall guy grappling, and loosing horribly, with Sakura. The goddess had already disarmed him completely, but a blonde in a red dress that was mildly revealing, and rather ugly looking, pulled out a fan and launched a tornado-like gust of wind at the two. A wall of solid ice slammed into the wind, dispersing it before Sakura even became aware of it.

A blur of silver drew Matt's attention to his right as he skidded to a stop. A woman in short shorts, and a tank top with Jecht's symbol on it was sighting him down with a pair of pistols. Matt smiled, despite the fact that he barely recognized his old friend. Yuna.

She opened fire on the fat guy who had finally managed to get back to his feet. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the shield, but completely pinned the man down and kept him out of the fight. Matt smiled slightly as he slammed the flat of Lightning Edge into the thin man's knees. The man's legs buckled and Sakura slammed a fist into his face so hard that she knocked a tooth loose. The woman in the red, the fat guy, and Yuna all stopped and stared at Sakura as she got off the tall guy's unconscious form.

Matt took the pause in the battle to look at the last unknown there. She had spiky white hair, red eyes that were surprisingly cold, and worth leather exclusively, even though it was segmented into sections, in-between which she wore nothing. Around her shoulders was the only thing that wasn't black leather, and that was a piece of black material that covered almost half her upper body. Behind her she was holding a sword that was easily as big as Auron's, but she didn't seem to have any problem wielding it.

"Who, are _you_? More amateur Sphere Hunters?" Matt's smile became an emotionless mask. "What, fiend got your tongue?"

Matt stood up and hefted Lightning Edge and pretended to study the entire group. He looked at the fallen tall guy who he was resting a foot on, and at Sakura who was sitting cross-legged on the ground and doing the same thing he was. The two looked at the woman in red, and then the guy with the shield who was looking at them with surprise evident in his eyes. "Who are we? We should be asking you that, you're the one invading the Ronso's sacred mountain."

Yuna and a blonde behind her who Matt was positive was Rikku, despite the major outfit change, gasped in surprise. The woman in leather raised an eyebrow but said nothing, and the chick in red simply laughed. "We don't care, love. We're the LeBlanc Syndicate. We do what we want. And what we want is to do is take the sphere at the top of the mountain!"

Matt shook his head and sighed audibly. "Sorry, nobody's taking that sphere without Kimahri's permission, got it? Now I'll give you one last chance to leave." The two laughed at him nervously and he shook his head with fake sadness. "Well then, I was hoping it'd come to this, but I didn't think that it'd actually get here. But since it did, lets go." He turned to Yuna. "You three just stay right there, ok? I know someone who's going to want to see meet you."

"Forget it love, 'cause we're taking that sphere and there's nothing you can do about it. Now step aside before I get angry."

Matt laughed once. "Angry? Step aside before you get 'angry'? Lady, you don't _know _what anger is. Angry is waking up in a place you don't belong every day, and knowing you can't go back to where you belong until you do what you have to. Angry is the feeling you get when you can't be around the friends you really want to be around, and have to work for some ass-hole who see you as a means to an end and not a living person." Energy started to crackle in the air and a ring of electricity started to form around Matt. "Now, I've been living that life for too long. Here, I'll show you the physical manifestation of my anger!"

'Matt?' Yuna wondered as she watched the amazing feat before her. Lightning was arcing around Leblanc's gang and forming into a ball in Matt's hand. 'It could be, but why is he back so soon? And where are Andy and Ryan? Something's not right here.'

Leblanc and the fat guy stared at the raw power of a ball of pure thunder. "Last chance, Leblanc. Get off this mountain before _I _get angry." The two nodded vigorously. Matt stepped off the tall, thin guy and they picked him up and dragged him off without breaking stride. Matt smiled. "Off mountain is the other way." He muttered as he let his Chidori die.

"Hey!"

Rikku pouted as she watched Leblanc's gang race at full speed to the top of the mountain. "Who does she think she is?"

"She's getting hurt." The woman that Matt still didn't know added.

"Relax, Paine. We need to beat her to the top!" Yuna holstered her pistols and took off as fast as she could.

"You don't have to run?" Yuna stopped and looked at him like he was stupid. "Our friends'll stop them."

"Are you sure that they can handle those three? They're really tricky." Rikku commented as she put away a pair of red daggers that had abnormally long blades for knives.

Matt snorted. "Oh, I'm pretty sure they'll be ok." Matt pictured the fight in his mind and couldn't help but smile slightly. He strapped Lightning Edge to his back and retrieved his other axe. He heard Rikku and Yuna gasp almost imperceptibly and smiled. "Let's go, before some Ronso decided that my friends and I are taking too long to get Sphere Hunters off their mountain."

"Who are you?" Pained demanded, still standing in her ready stance. "I asked who you are!" She repeated through clenched teeth when he didn't answer.

Matt shook his head. "Sure you wanna draw your sword against me after what you just saw?" Paine's stance didn't relax at all and Matt sighed. "Well, if you want to know, figure it out."

Pained stared at him, debating whether to attack when he turned his back. 'No.' she thought as she put her sword away. 'He's too useful right now. As long as he's here we don't have to worry about Leblanc's gang.'

"Well, if we're not going to fight anymore, I suggest that we start towards the top." Matt turned and started to walk down the path that Leblanc's gang had taken without waiting for a reply from any of them. Sakura followed him instantly, and Yuna, Rikku, and Paine followed after that. 'Well, Yuna and Rikku probably recognized me with that Chidori, but they're not saying anything. Then again, Kimahri had a hard time believing us too. We weren't supposed to be back for another year. Guess I can't blame them too much. Besides, it'll end up being more fun this way.'

888

"Hey, Ryan. What's the deal with this?" Nick pointed down to three people who were desperately scrambling up the mountain behind them. "Should I give'em a warm welcome on this cold day?"

"That would be a bit excessive. Besides, remember what happened last time you use explosives on Gagazet?" The two smiled. "I mean, sure it was fine in the end, but causing an avalanche is _bad_, Nick. Bad." Nick flipped him off while he continued to watch the three come closer. The first guy was skinny, while the second was fat. The only reason he'd even noticed the woman behind them was because of her constant yelling. "Geez, could they be any louder, honestly? They'll probably cause an avalanche at this rate anyway."

"Does that mean I can go to work?"

"No." Ryan replied flatly. "How about we just let them come to us."

"Hit-and-run tactics?" Ryan nodded. "Man, how boring."

"But utterly efficient." Ryan added as he stood up and walked behind a wall of solid ice. A few seconds later Nick joined him, and a minute later they heard someone scrambling over the edge of the ledge they'd been watching the three from. Next came someone heavier, followed by the sounds of the woman cursing as she scrambled up the mountain. Nick rolled his eyes, amazed at how uncoordinated the group was. Nick nodded around the wall and Ryan sighed, knowing he would go whether or not Ryan agreed.

"So you're the Sphere Hunters, eh?" Ryan asked as the two walked out from behind the cliff.

"Don't look too tough to me." Nick added.

The fat man pulled a giant shield off his back and brought it up into what the two could only assume was a ready position. "Boss, we needs ta get ridda all des guardians." The woman looked the two over.

"I agree, lady Leblanc." The tall guy said.

"I suppose you won't simply let us pass then, will you?" Nick snorted and Ryan just watched the group with a false mild interest. "I didn't think so. Ormi," The fat guy looked over at her. "Logos," the tall guy who was now wielding two six-shots looked down and waited for orders. "Remove them."

"With pleasure, lady Leblanc." Logos said as he opened fire on the two. Ryan jumped straight up, Wind Cutter already out, and Nick dropped a flash bang grenade and turn just before it blew. Logos and Leblanc cried out in pain at the sudden flare.

"Thank you sergeant." Nick muttered as he pulled out a concussion grenade. He spun around, chucked the grenade, then moved behind the wall and covered his ears. The grenade exploded, and even with his ears covered he could barely hear through the ringing. 'Son of a bitch.'

He pulled out his pistol and peeked around the corner just in time to see a shower of sparks and blood fly away from Ormi, the fat guy. He blinked and saw a cut in the shield that went almost halfway down, and blood was trickling onto the snow from the arm behind it. 'Ryu Tsui Sen.' Nick thought with a slight smile. A bullet bounced off the ground in front of him and he spun around, his pistol ready. The tall one, Logos, had managed to gather himself together, and was now trying to correct his aim, but was clearly having trouble. 'Must've screwed up his balance.' Nick fired off three shots. The first was wide, but the second slammed into Logos' right leg. As Logos fell he tried to bring his gun around to fire at Nick, but the third bullet slammed into his hand and he dropped it.

"Nick! Why the hell did you use a concussion grenade when we were right there!" Nick heard his friend's shout clearly.

'Guess the affects aren't that bad after all." Nick turned and was smacked to the ground by Leblanc's fan. Even as he hit the ground he was twisting around, his legs knocking hers our from under her. She hit the ground with a thud as Nick regained his footing. "Sorry, it'd be too great a loss to the women of Spira if I died here." Leblanc's face was twisted in rage as she waved her fan at him. A powerful gust of air sent Nick flying into the wall of ice, which cracked slightly when he hit. 'This is why I hate magic.'

Leblanc raised her fan again, a smug look of victory on her face. Nick's gun flew up, aimed at her head. Too late. Leblanc was faster then him, and Nick braced himself for the impact that was on its way. After a few seconds of nothing Nick opened one eye and understood why.

"You bastard! You cut my fan, my beautiful fan, in half!" Leblanc screeched at Ryan who sat there and nodded his head calmly.

"I did. I also cut through fattie's shield so much that I got his arm, and Nick took out beanpole. Anything else we should do before kicking you off the mountain."

Leblanc shot daggers at him with her eyes and he simply bowed his head politely. "Damn! First it was that lighting manipulating freak, now you two!" She screeched as Ormi helped Logos to his feet as best he could. "We're leaving. Come on!" The three left the way they'd come and Matt sat down next to Nick, holding his head.

"Don't _ever _use one of those when we're in range, got it?" Nick nodded since his own ears hadn't stopped ringing either.

"Nick-san, Ryan-san. We found three Sphere Hunters, they claim to know Kimahri and I think Matt-san knows them, but he's leading us right under you. Try not to kill us, ok?" Sakura's voice came over the head sets but only Nick heard it over the ringing in his ears. "Oh, and Matt-san says to meet us at the ruins that Kimahri mentioned, the ones on the top of the mountain. Says you're going to love the surprise."

"Got it, Sakura-san." Nick replied as the two stood up. "Ryan, you ok? Can you hear me, shit head?"

"Fuck you." Ryan muttered as he shook his head. "Lets go, ruins at the top, right?"

"You heard then?"

"Not really, but we've been everywhere else on this mountain and we haven't seen a sphere. It's just common sense that if we didn't find it anywhere else it'd have to be there." Nick nodded.

"Ok, then lets get going."

888

"Matt-san, where do you think they are?" Sakura's Japanese had Rikku, Yuna, and Paine utterly confused. At first they'd tried to figure out what the two were talking about, but after more then a few failures they'd given up.

"Well, knowing them they'll be above us, and sticking to the shadows." Matt smiled. "And there are plenty of shadowy ledges all around us, so who knows?"

"Well we're about to run out of 'shadowy ledges' for them to follow us on." Sakura pointed to the top of the path where none of the ledge continued. As the group of five stepped onto the suddenly flat area they found themselves staring at a big ruin.

"I guess this is it." Rikku said happily as they took the place in for a few seconds. Just as they reached the first arch of the ceiling Matt sighed. "What?"

"That." He pointed up to the giant fiend on the ceiling.

"It figures we'd run into something like this." Rikku muttered as she drew her daggers.

"It comes!" Paine yelled as the fiend dropped to the ground, cracking the area that it landed with its great weight.

"So this is Boris." Matt muttered as he hefted Lightning Edge. "The Ronso mentioned it. Its supposed to be some super strong fiend that's protected some of the ruins of Gagazet for thousands of years." Lighting arced around Lightning Edge's head. "Mind if I have the first shot?"

"By all means." Rikku said happily.

"Rikku, that thing'll gut him." Paine muttered as she pulled out her sword and stepped forward. "He may have beaten Leblanc's gang, but that's not saying anything special. They're a bunch of pushovers."

"You don't think I can do it?" Matt asked in an amused voice.

"I know you can't." Paine replied coldly.

"One shot." Paine raised an eyebrow. "I bet you I can kill it in a single attack." Paine rolled her eyes but said nothing. The sound of snow moving down the wall to their left drew the attention of all five. "Sakura-san, is that Nick?" She nodded. "Is Ryan there?"

"Ryan's here." Ryan said as he stepped out from behind one of the walls across from them.

"Fiend." Matt said, pointing at the fiend lazily.

"Is that… Boris?" Matt nodded. "Well, maybe it'll get interesting."

"Hey, no, hold it. I made a bet that I could kill it in one shot. No butting into this one." Ryan sighed.

"Fine, have it your way." He glanced at the fiend. "But it looks like Boris isn't very patient." The fiend whirled around on Ryan, but found nothing but a flash bang grenade. The flash blinded the fiend as Matt charged in.

With a single swing of Lightning Edge the giant fiend's head was severed off completely. He glanced back at Paine and found all four of the women staring at him in awe, fear, and surprise. "What? I told you it'd take one hit, didn't I?"

"Who are you?" Paine demanded.

"Me? My name's Matt, the god of thunder." Paine just stared at him like he was another normal guy.

"And I'm Ryan, tied as the third strongest swordsman to ever live, master of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, and reincarnation of Lusniec, the strongest guardian angel ever, direct protector of the gods, yaddie, yaddie, yah." Ryan looked at the growing pool of blood and took a step back to avoid it.

Rikku and Yuna stared at them like they'd each just morphed into something that was a cross between terrifying and hilarious. "You mean to tell us that you're pretending to be our friends?" Yuna's glared turned ice cold. "I'll admit, you're better then most of the imposters we've seen over the past two years. Some can do Hiten Mitsurugi Style, some can do the Chidori. You two can do it all. But they won't be here for another year, so if you wanna leave in one piece stop pretending to be our friends."

Matt and Ryan shared a confused look. "Yuna, I think you've got your facts mixed up." Ryan said as he took a step forward. A bullet buried into the ground not more then an inch from his foot and he nodded his head sadly. "Ok, fine. We'll do it your way. What do we have to do to prove we're really us?"

"Seriously, and who else can use the Chidori. That's my signature move damn it! Only I'm allowed to use it." Matt added as Nick finally stood up from the snow-slide.

"What'd I miss?"

"Rikku-san and Yuna-san," Sakura motioned to each of them as she said their names, "don't believe that Ryan-san and Matt-san are… well, Ryan-san and Matt-san."

"Ohhh, I see." Nick muttered as he started to brush the snow off of himself. "So how are they going to prove they are themselves?"

Sakura shrugged, "I dunno, ask Rikku-san or Yuna-san."

"Well, what do we have to do to prove that we are the guys that were on your journey two years ago, Yunie?" Yuna raised an eyebrow but remained silent. "Yuna, come on, do you want Ryan to summon Kaze or something?"

"Matt, I haven't been able to summon Kaze since we went back to earth." Ryan muttered quietly. "Yuna, you said that people have copied all our attacks, right?" She nodded. "Then ask us a question that only the real us could know."

Yuna relaxed slightly and started to go over the journey that she'd been on two years ago. "Would my word prove sufficient?" The voice sent a wave of fear down Yuna's back and she whipped her pistols around…

And found herself staring at someone she'd hoped to never see again. "But you died. Two years ago, I watched you die."

'That's the guy from my dreams!' Sakura's heart jumped into her throat. 'He's real? And he's… dead! What is going one here?'

"Ryan, Matt. It's been awhile. Ah, and the ever energetic Rikku." Lusniec said as he walked towards his successor. "How're those ribs doing?"

"Vilg oui, oui pycdynt (Fuck you, you bastard)!" Rikku yelled at his back. Lusniec turned around slowly, his giant sword appearing in his hand. A wave of fear unlike anything Rikku had ever felt before washed over her as they locked eyes.

"Now, now. You shouldn't talk to your _betters _that way, little Al Bhed." Lusniec said with false sweetness.

"Betters?" Matt's question drew Lusniec's attention away from Rikku. "First off, Rikku's a hell of a better person then you ever were. And second, you're alone. There's now 's' in this situation, that would be plural."

"I know how to speak, you half witted thunder bolt." Lusniec snarled. "And as for being 'alone', I think you're about to find out that assumption is _very _wrong."

"What are you talking about? What idiot would team up with a gay, psychopathic killer whose only goal is to kill my boyfriend?" Lusniec whirled around and Demon Edge slashed out at Rikku's neck. Rikku's eyes widened in horror as her life flashed before her eyes. And then the blade stopped. She glanced over and saw the guy who'd been impersonating Ryan standing between her and Lusniec's sword.

"You ok?" He asked calmly. Rikku stared at him for a few seconds before she realized he was talking to her.

"Uh… yeah, thanks." She whispered, still confused by how he'd stopped Lusniec's attack. "Are you?" Ryan glanced over his shoulder and smiled.

"Please, you think this father fucker could really hurt me? Last time we fought I cut him in two, through his Kuzu Ryu Sen, remember?" Rikku and Yuna stared at him.

They'd never explained how Ryan had beaten Lusniec on Gagazet, 'How does he know that unless…' The truth slapped them in the face like a wet glove. "Oh my god." Rikku whispered as the two swordsmen broke their lock and stepped away from everyone. "Ryan?" Her voice was so quiet that she barely heard it herself, and Ryan didn't hear it because he was too far away.

"Wait, you mean that's really your former guardian, Yuna? Ryan, the guardian angel?" Yuna nodded numbly. "Then he must be Matt, the walking thunder storm." Yuna continued to nod numbly. "Guess appearances are deceiving."

"That was cold, Paine. Really, really cold." Matt noted as he walked over to where they were standing. "Of course, things are about to get a lot more intense in a moment. Nick, get your ass over here!" He turned back to the girls and found himself staring past Yuna's left shoulder, his eyes narrowing barely to slits.

"Matt, you ok? Hey, what's wrong?" Rikku asked, shaking his arm slightly.

"Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Sakura, Nick, get away from here." He muttered through clenched teeth.

"Why?" Yuna demanded.

"Just go. Get your sphere and go back down the mountain as fast at you can, Ryan and I'll meet you at the Ronso village."

"Who's this idiot?" Paine asked when she turned around and found herself staring at Lusniec's new partner. "Don't you know better then to sneak--" She lost her words as a wave of blood lust unlike anything she'd ever felt before washed over her. Before she could do anything Matt grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her behind him with one hand and caught a morning star in his other before it could crush in Yuna's skull. The girls backed away from the murderer and got a good look at him for the first time. Between the bloodlust he was giving off, the devil mask he had on, and the cloak that looked like it was made of blood they felt utterly devoid of any hope at all.

"What the hell is with that guys cloak?" Nick asked as he helped Sakura to her feet. "It looks like blood running down a waterfall, constantly."

"Nick, get them out of here, _now_!" Matt's tone left Nick no room to argue. "Get to the Ronso village, we'll meet you there."

"Right…" Nick said as he started to push the girls in-between the two spots that were about to become battlefields. A white wall with black smoke inside of it rose up and blocked their only way out of the area. "Okay, not that way." Nick muttered as they ran into the ruins. "Get in the center." He was already setting his opened backpack on the ground, digging through it and tossing explosives out carelessly. "Come on, come on. Ah ha!" He pulled out several packages that were wrapped up in bubble wrap and started to pull it apart.

"Nick-san, duck!" The fact that Sakura had yelled in English didn't even register as Nick rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying missile that was actually the masked man.

"'Scuse me, coming through." Matt said as he followed the man into the ruins, a little blood on his right fist.

Sakura's words clicked into place in Nick's mind. "Hey, that was English!"

"Later, Nick-san!" Sakura yelled, again in English, as she grabbed him and pulled him out of the ruins. A black wave flashed in front her as she came out, nearly cutting her nose of it was so close.

"Ryan!" Rikku gasped in horror. Sakura whipped her head around and saw why Rikku was horrified. Ryan was covered in blood, and all of it was his own. Nearly a hundred small red rivers already covered his body already and the two hadn't been fighting for more then two minutes at most. While Ryan was covered in his own blood, Lusniec seemed to be fine. His movements were fluid, natural, and deadly. His kimono was still snow white, and not a drop of blood was on any part of him but his sword and the bottom of his sandals. "Oh my god."

Rikku started forward but stopped when she felt a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Don't do it, Rikku." Paine said calmly.

"Rikku…" The blonde Al Bhed dropped to her knees and stared at the battle. "Come on, Rikku. We have to get back to the Celsius." Rikku looked at Yuna like she'd never seen her before. "I don't want to leave them either, Rikku, but we can't do anything for them. And if we don't go then all the Ronso could die too. We'll come back for them, with all the Ronso warriors Kimahri can spare."

Rikku shook her head. "We wouldn't make it." She told them in a horrified voice.

888

"What is this?" Lusniec demanded when Ryan dropped to his knees and tried to catch his breath. "Why aren't you fighting back? Well, what's wrong with you?"

'Good question.' Ryan admitted to himself. 'What's going on here? I can see his blade fine, but I can't stop it. I think he's going to go one way and he goes another, and half the time he hits even when I _do _manage to block him.' He looked down at his legs, which were almost torn to ribbons like every other part of his body. 'I'm loosing a lot of blood.' His vision, already tinted red from all the blood running over his eye, was blurring quickly, and no matter how hard he tried his body didn't respond.

"Well, nothing to say for yourself before you die?" Ryan stood up slowly and glared at Lusniec who sneered back. "You're pitiful." Ryan's sword came up to block the sword strike he expected. Lusniec grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed Ryan's face into his knee. "You're not the kid that promised me a death match. You're not even worth letting live to get stronger."

'What's going on?' Ryan could barely make out Lusniec's form though the blur of images he saw. 'I can't think straight.'

:So don't think.: a woman's voice said gently. :Confused? Please, don't be alarmed.:

"Easier said than done." Ryan muttered.

"Talking to yourself now, worm?" Lusniec kicked Ryan in the face so hard he flew back three feet before he landed.

'Got stay calm. Gotta think. There's a way out, I've just gotta stay alive long enough to find it.' Ryan winced as a waved of pain racked his body.

:Don't think.: The woman said gently. :Feel. Let go of your senses. Trust your instincts, like you did two years ago, on Gagazet.:

'Who are you?' Ryan demanded.

:I'm Usi, the goddess of ice.: Ryan winced as Lusniec kicked him in the stomach. :I know I'm not supposed to meddle in the affairs of other gods, but Lusniec has lost all traces of sanity. I will not let him continue his spree of madness. Remember, feel, and let go of your sense. Don't think.:

Ryan closed his eyes and heard Lusniec stop in front of him. 'Feel, don't think. Let go of your senses. What is Usi, a fucking Jedi?' Ryan shook his head as another voice, this time one that he recognized, came into his head.

"_Do or do not. There is no try."_ The old voice of Yoda said in his head. Ryan couldn't help but laugh.

'Alright, _master_, I'll obey you.' Ryan thought sarcastically.

"_Qui-Gon's defiance I sense in you. Need that, you do not." _

'I must be going insane. Or maybe I've just lost too much blood.' Ryan's body began to relax. 'First I'm talking to a goddess that I shouldn't be, using telepathy, and now I'm hearing Yoda's voice, and he's reprimanding me.' Distract by his thought, Ryan didn't notice that his body was completely relaxed, or the look on Lusniec's face that was something between anger and confusion. A realization hit Ryan twice as hard as Lusniec's kick that sent him flying half a dozen feet. 'I've been trying to fight the way Auron taught me. I've been trying to think of what Lusniec'll do next instead of just fighting.' An image of the ancient master appeared in his mind.

"You're hopeless." Lusniec muttered. "If you had at least given me some challenge I'd have let you live. But you didn't land a single attack!"

'Auron, you taught me a lot about being a swordsman. You showed me how to do things I only dreamed of, helped us sharpen our reflexes to the point where even Nick can stop my attacks once and a while. But you never told us how we were able to do that. Now I understand, we have to find that out for ourselves, don't we?' The image of Auron nodded, almost like Auron was agreeing with him. "Thanks."

888

Matt wasn't in a good position, and he knew it. Whoever the masked man was, he was clearly possessed by a god. A pissed off god. Only one god was angry with him. "Yu Yevon." He muttered as the man swung his morning star and mace combination through a figure eight.

"Indeed. Oh, I believe I owe you for that little trick of yours." Matt smirked.

"I beat you once before. I'll beat you again." The insane over-god laughed.

"You beat me with the help of Vena's brat." Yu Yevon corrected as he launched a holy spell at Matt. Matt never flinched as the spell bounced off his shield, never too his eyes off of Yu Yevon. "This time you're all alone. What can you do under these odds, I wonder?' A bolt of lightning sent Yevon flying across the large room and nearly through the wall.

"How about 'Kick your ass' for starters?" Yevon laughed as he brushed some debris off of his cloak.

"You're certainly an energetic one, aren't you? What, with all the thunder bolts and all." Matt rolled his eyes and barely rolled to the side of a fire spell. His shield of thunder flared into existence while he was still turning, and he nearly slipped on a shattered icicle. "Of course, no matter how hard you struggle you simply won't be able to win. Besides, do you honestly think you can kill the me here, now, without all the gods?"

"I suppose not." Matt admitted. "But I can still take option B: Kick your ass so badly you'll _wish _you were dead." Yevon laughed.

"Don't be so stupid. Your lightning bolt didn't hurt me at all. Neither did the impact for that matter." Matt sneered at the god but said nothing. "Yes, it took a long time to find a body that I could use for more then a few days. You know, one that could hold all of my power without becoming useless in a few days. Imagine my surprise to find it in _your _world."

Fear flooded through Matt at the comment. 'He can go to earth? Then that means that there are more portals then this one! He was on the Farplane. There has to be more!'

"Yes, finding a _way _to your world was difficult to do from the Farplane. But it is possible. Perhaps someone else has found it by now. I know not, and I care not. When I've killed all the gods' heirs, I'll go and take over that world as well as this one! I'll rule two worlds with an iron fist, and burn anything, anyone that stands against me! The armies of both worlds combined won't be able to stand against me for more then a few seconds!"

Yevon started to laugh but quickly stopped. Lightning arced around Matt, shielding him completely from view. "Yevon, that's never going to happen. Because you'll never kill us, we'll beat you every time. Know why?" The lightning spread until Yevon was completely surrounded by it. "Because no matter how powerful you become we'll kick your ass back to the Farplane. Every time, without fail. Because that's our job, to stop you."

"You've never even had a real job. The closest thing you've ever had was hunting down all those fiends I sent to distract you."

'Distract us? What would he need to distract us from?' Matt didn't have time to wonder any more then that. An Ultima spell barely missed hitting him in the face, but he didn't miss. Yevon's screams of pain quickly turned to laughter despite being caught in a building that had Matt's electricity running through it. A wall of gray flames surrounded the insane god, and Matt's heart dropped. 'Damn, he's the non-elemental god. Guess it makes sense, that was all that was left.'

The flames shot past Matt, surrounded him. They swatted him one-way then another until he could barely concentrate enough to keep his own shield up. Suddenly the flames disappeared. Yu Yevon's mace took their place, slamming into Matt's chest with strength greater then Auron's. The air rushed out of Matt's lungs but he grabbed the wood behind the weapon's head and squeezed. The ice-cold wood shattered, and the freezing in his hand was washed away by the blood flowing out of the cuts the shattering weapon had made.

"Damn you to the Farplane!" Yevon shouted as he swung at Matt with his morning star. This time Matt was ready. He threw his wounded arm up in front of his face, and he held the morning star away from his face. With his remaining hand, his right hand, he lifted Lightning Edge and slammed it down on the handle as hard as he could. Just as he felt resistance he snapped his head as far to the left as he could, barely getting it out of the way before the heavy metal had slammed into the ground.

"No, Yevon, damn _you _to the Farplane!" Matt kicked up with both his legs and Yevon went flying over his head. Matt was on his feet instantly, but Yevon was already on him, weapons made completely out of his gray fire smashing away at Matt's defenses. 'You wanna have an endurance contest, fine.' Matt thought grimly as his axe batted aside attacks at almost blinding speeds. Each time the weapons connected Yevon received a bolt of electricity while Matt was hammered by raw, non-elemental power. On and on the battle went, well beyond either fighters' physical limits. Both were drained of any magic, and the battle had begun to turn into a blood bath when Matt tripped.

"Mine!" Yevon grabbed the handle of one of his busted weapons and dove for Matt's throat. The thunder god tried to move, to roll out of the way or stand up, but couldn't.

He'd reached his absolute limit. It hadn't been enough.

888

Lusniec looked at him like he was insane. "What are you thanking me for?" Ryan looked up at Lusniec who took a startled step back and then slashed down with his sword. Ryan watched the cursed sword's path, but never moved to defend where he thought it would land. At the last second he pushed off the ground as hard as he could. In mid-swing Lusniec was too dedicated to his attack to move at all, and watched with an odd satisfaction as Wind Cutter ran him through. As the two tumbled to the ground he laughed, "Yes. Those eyes, so cold and remorseless. Those eyes, just now! Those were the eyes I was looking for. And look at this!" He pulled Wind Cutter out and held it in front of him. "You even managed to land a blow. Hell, if I was alive, that may have proven as fatal as all of your wounds will." He threw Wind Cutter down to Ryan who made no move to catch it. "But showing some hope now is just too little too late. Good-bye, Ryan. It was fun while it lasted."

"Ryan-san!" Sakura yelled as she slammed into Lusniec. "Rikku-san, Yuna-san, Paine-san! Now!" The three ran over and gently lifted Ryan off the ground.

"Move, woman!" Lusniec hissed as he grabbed her by the hair and pulled. She let go, but instead of falling to the ground she spun in mid-air and kicked Lusniec's hand so hard that he dropped her. "Who are you, you little wench!" a Tonfa slammed into his face and Lusniec staggered back. He reached up and touched his jaw, and when he pulled his hand away there was blood on his fingertips.

"Well, come on Lusniec." Sakura said as she twirled her Tonfas. "I've seen you fight several times. I'm going to kick your ass."

'Several times? Is this bitch crazy?' Lusniec looked back down at his fingertips. 'Perhaps, but even so she's hurt me as badly as Ryan did.' A smile spread across Lusniec's face and he looked Sakura over intently. "I don't know who you are, wench, but you're pretty good. I'm not usually taken by surprise under any circumstances."

"Shut up and fight you father fucker." A wave of anger washed over Lusniec.

"If you're so quick to die, then I'll gladly send you to the Farplane!" Demon Edge flashed out, hit one of Sakura's Tonfas, and stopped. "What!"

Sakura's second Tonfa smashed into Lusniec's hand so hard bones snapped. "Is that it?" She asked mockingly. Lusniec replied with a Wind Cutter that slammed into the young woman, but the thin barrier of us in between her and the wind took the brunt of the assault. Lusniec's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and amazement as he watched the crystal barrier shatter and melt after the attack had vanished.

"You're the goddess of ice? Well, that would explain a few things." He snapped his hand back into place and sent just enough healing magic to repair it into his hand. "I'm honored, my lady." He said mockingly. "Tell me, why is it that _you _are defending Ryan when he is supposed to defend _you_?"

"I've got no idea what you're talking about, and frankly I don't care. I'm protecting Ryan-san because he's my friend, just like Nick-san went to help Matt-san. I'd protect any of them; I'd even protect Yuna-san, Rikku-san, and Paine-san. Especially from a scumbag like you."

"Brave words." Demon Edge rested against her exposed throat. "You know, Ryan is one of the few people to _ever _beat me. I've killed for a living for thousands of years, _girl_. Do you honestly think you can beat me?" Sakura did half a front flip. She'd have done an entire on but her foot had caught Lusniec in-between the legs and he collapsed in pain. "You bitch! Die!" He yelled as he grabbed her leg and raised Demon Edge.

888

Blood sprayed over Matt despite the fact that he hadn't been hurt. He opened his eyes and found a spearhead sticking through Yu Yevon's hand, which was directly over Matt's face. The spear ripped itself out and then the other side of Nick's hockey stick flew down. Yu Yevon spun out of the way and Matt nearly lost the ability to have kids.

"Geez, watch it!"

"Later." Nick replied as he jumped away from Matt. A wave of fire flew over the prone thunder god, and the snow underneath him began to melt. "Rikku, Yuna, Paine, any time now!" Nick muttered as he fired a few rounds at the masked man. Matt felt three sets of hands grab him by the arms and begin to drag him away.

'Nick, don't you dare die you little shit.' Matt thought as the world drifted into a restful darkness.

888

'This girl is good.' Lusniec thought as he ducked under a kick only to find a Tonfa in his face when he stood back up. The pattern had been continuing for quite some time, and Lusniec was starting to feel light headed. 'Damn you, Ryan. You just had to get in one hit, didn't you?' He glanced down at the right side of kimono, which was now completely soaked through with blood from just above the waist down. The pain was gone, now it was the numbness that crept across his body that was beginning to worry him. 'Damn it all.' He knew he had to leave. The numbness was spreading too quickly, and soon it'd reach his hands and feet. That'd be the end of the fight.

Sakura dropped down and tried to sweep Lusniec's feet out from under him, but he jumped over the attack. She rolled away from him as Demon Edge came down at her head. When she stopped her roll she found herself facing empty air rather than an insane swordsman. 'What on earth?' she whipped her head around and spotted him behind her. "No way." She whispered in disbelief. He was flying away from the mountain! "Get back here!"

"Sakura, we don't have time to worry about him! Go help Nick!" Yuna yelled as she, Rikku, and Paine pulled a sleeping Matt away from the ruins. Sakura nodded and sprinted toward the ruins.

'Nick-san, don't you dare die.' She thought as she sprinted past the area with an empty pedestal. She rounded a corner and found herself looking eye-to-chest with the masked man. Instinct took over and she lowered her shoulder. The man spun to the side and Sakura felt his cloak against her face. A pair of surprised cries a few seconds later caused Sakura to spin around. "What!" She gasped in surprise as the man cleared the distance between the ruins and the edge of the cliff, several hundred feet, in a few seconds and then jumped off the cliff. Almost immediately a red and white blur with giant black wings shot up and caught one of his hands, and the two flew off.

888

Nick found himself barely able to find the man he was fighting. They'd traded blows for awhile, but the reach of Nick's weapon, combined with the fact that Matt had broken the man's weapons made the stand up fight one sided. And the masked man wasn't using magic anymore, either. He'd only launched a pair of fire spells at Nick, one of which had burned Nick's right leg, and the other which had simply passed over Matt before his friends had been able to pull him away.

"Nick-san?" Sakura asked, once again reverting to Japanese. "The masked man got away." Nick relaxed.

"You're sure?" Sakura nodded.

"Come on, Ryan-san is in bad shape. Rikku-san, Yuna-san, and Paine-san are waiting for us." Nick turned and his eyes widened in surprise at the sight behind Sakura. "Nick-san, something wrong?"

"Geez, they've got their own airship!" Nick pointed behind Sakura and she looked back. The two saw Yuna waving for them to hurry and took off towards the giant ship.

* * *

ok, i've got a few things to say before you review. first, i know that there aren't supposed to be any sphere comm things yet, but i'll explain that next chapter, so don't worry. as for the FFX cast not recognizing ryan and matt, if you don't understand it'll be explained in more detail next chapter, so don't worry about it either. ok, other then that i've just got to say READ AND REVEIW! cya next time, and until then, don't do nothin stupid without me! 


	3. More Old Friends

hey everyone, i'm back! so, who's happy to see me? (crickets chirping) oh, alright. i'll go right to the reviews so you can all get to the chapter faster (cheers of joy) Evil people.

Sephirothxx- yeah, we're back in spira. and, yeah, the earth stuff did lack sufficent fighting. as did the last chapter if you ask me. and this is just another plot building chapter, so it does too, in my opinion. it has, like, one fight and that's only a few lines long. yes, this chapter is boring, again in my opinion. and i did explain why no one recognized ryan and matt, but it comes up _again _in this chapter, from wakka, so everyone: PAY ATTENTION! yeah, fights that involve the most powerful people in spira tend to be really amazing. that or really fast, ending in a single move, either way.

Auron's Fan- ok, after you see that this is posted, i'll be reading you fic! yes, sakura kicks serious ass. can't wait until she gets to fight again (evil grin) 'twill be "swell" as one of my friends likes to say. and, yeah, i didn't like the idea of matt, ryan, nick, and sakura falling into the middle of a concert as much as falling into the middle of gagazet and then fighting with kimahri... and being able to write sakura's reaction to the ronso. that was fun. oh, and andy's disappereance is explained this chapter. look for matt for that. and, yes, ryan and matt have been studying under auron for two years, what do you expect? i can't do ten, personally, so writing about people who could do several hundred is interesting to say the least. and you get another display of power from matt in this chapter. again, you'll know it when you come to it. and if you thought the yoda thing was odd... wait till you read about his dream. just a note about that, he lost a LOOOOOOOOOOT of BLOOD. and, yes, i am partially crazy.

lightningwizard- yeah, yeah. yes, i know, i can't proofread to save my life. why do you even bother to mention that anymore... that's dumber then... twidling your thumbs while waiting for the next chapter to come out!

Plum-chan- yay, plum-chan! either my memory is bad, or you haven't reviewed for awhile. both are very possible i suppose... anyway. yeah, well, as for my character being "real", i try REAL hard. i was talking to the guy who matt's based off of and he said that, during the part where yuna says some people have even been able to copy matt's chidori, he actually thought exactly what i had matt say. maybe i'm good, maybe i just hang out with him too much. who knows? and do you really have a guess as to who Yu Yevon might be possessing? well, i'm glad you kept it to yourself, might be right and ruin the surprise. of course, i'd probably have denied it even if you were right, so i guess it don't matter either way...

Da KeR MysTeRr- yeah, doesn't everyone have someone who doesn't think they're a good writer? and even those who don't, isn't that what critics are for? and, as for that comment about your friend, wow. i know people have _tried _to get me to publish a short story or two, but i never seriously considered it since they all knew me. coming from someone who doesn't know me at all... that kinda puts things in a new light. hmmm... and i'm glad that you think this'll take up another spot on your top 10 list! a whole list for me you say? i'm truely honored.

Anasazi Darkmoon- Sephirothxx reccomended my series to you? well, i'm glad to have you aboard. yeah, i combine everything from fruitcakes to rurouni kenshin. great, isn't it? don't worry, lusniec and yu yevon creap almost everyone out... and, yes, they do annoy the hell outta each other. and i'm not sure if they'llgo out, but they won'g MURDER each other. ryan's there, there can't be anyunnecisarykilling among thegroup. yeah, sakura and nick are interesting, and yes sakura gets her legendary weapon... this chapter.as for having something planned i have only one thing to say: possibly.

Nygenn- wow... two new reviewers! go me! and you read 2 fallen gods in one night and a morning? i hope that was a long time, 'cause that was over 470 pages... i'm honored (bows) and why would my writing style annoy you? and for all of andy's fans that are worried about him being replaced by nick, don't worry. i would NEVER go that far, even on my worst moments. that's just too evil. and don't worry, rikku'll be fine. ryan won't let anything happen to her after waiting TWO YEARS to see her, know what i mean?

labrat-seph- OMG! you're actually WRONG for a change! yu yevon didn't go to earth to have andy locked up. and yeah, sakura is going to do a lot of ass kicking since she's gonna end up seeing the group as her family.

* * *

More Old Friends 

"Who are they?" Brother demanded once Paine and Nick had gotten Ryan and Matt into the medical area of the airship. "Why are they here?"

"Shinira, can you analyze the sphere we found?" Paine handed the Al Bhed whiz kid the sphere she'd grabbed from the ruins on Gagazet.

"Don't ignore me!" Brother cried, stomping on the deck with one foot. Rikku spun around and looked him over from top to bottom.

"We didn't recognize them either." Brother looked at her like she was insane. "Matt, and Ryan. From two years ago. They were there when we fought Sin." Brother's eyes widened in surprise as he recalled the day.

"So these two are who they said." Paine muttered in a somewhat amused voice. "Never thought they'd be such pushovers."

Rikku spun around and was about to defend her friends, but Nick beat her to it. "Listen, Ryan and Matt are two of the strongest people ever. They'd kick your ass, so just back the fuck off."

"If they're so strong, why did they get beaten so easily?" Paine countered in her quiet, measured voice. Nick bit his lip. "Perhaps your friends aren't as strong as you thought." Rikku stomped past them all and off the bridge, leaving all of the people who knew her starring in amazement at her unusual silence.

"Rikku-san?" Sakura followed the Al Bhed off the bridge. Rikku-san, are you ok?" Rikku stopped and shook her head.

"The first time I see him in three years, and now he's probably gonna die!" She whispered as she slid down the wall. The ship lurched as brother pushed the ships engines to their top speed. "Its just not fair." Sakura sat down across from Rikku, not sure what to say. "And I just sat there and watched him get hurt so badly."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Sakura laid a comforting hand on Rikku's shoulder, despite the confused look Rikku was giving her. "I'll admit, I don't know much about Spira, or about Ryan-san, or Nick-san, or Matt-san, but from what I've seen them do, I don't think they're going to die that easily. They're just too stubborn." Rikku gave her a small, slightly strained smile.

"Oh, that reminds me, Sakura. How do you know Ryan, and Matt?" Sakura sighed.

"Well, one day I was going to practice at the martial arts dojo I trained at. It was supposed to be for sword specialists, but after I beat the teacher they let me in." Rikku's smile became slightly less strained. "Anyway, one day I came in and the two of them were taking on the entire school. They looked like they were doing pretty well too, to be honest I wasn't sure if they were human. Then I found out that my brother, in his stupid arrogance, had made a bet with Ryan-san and lost, and the entire team had to attack them at once. I tried to fight Matt-san to keep that from happening, but it didn't work too well."

"You fought with Matt?" Sakura nodded and rubbed her head. "Didn't go so well, did it?"

"Not really. I wouldn't say that I lost as badly as anyone else on the team would've, but I certainly didn't win. Of course, we didn't get to finish since a couple of fiends broke into the dojo. That's the first time I saw Ryan-san fight for real." Sakura tapped her chin gently and thought about the next few parts of the story, making sure she had them in the right order. "Later that night I met up with the three of them while they were wandering around the city at night. We started talking and they told me about their last trip to Spira, and how they had to find the god of ice. I thought they were crazy, to be perfectly honest." She smiled as Rikku giggled genuinely. "Then Matt-san started yelling for Nick-san to get me out of the park, and the next thing I remember before passing out was seeing a giant blob of jelly."

"A blob of jelly?" Rikku asked doubtfully. "You mean a fiend?" Sakura nodded. "Oh, ok. Must've been a flan then."

"Maybe, I'm not sure. It was so ugly I tripped, hit my head and passed out. When I woke up at I was at their house. Ryan was actually just walking through the door to the room I was in, which was unsettling to say the least. But he was just coming in to change the bandage around my head. After that I ended up here, in Spira, on Gagazet, living with Ronso for two weeks."

Rikku laughed. "That must've been the smelliest two weeks of your life." Sakura nodded. "Well I suppose I'd better go wake Matt up."

"Wake Matt-san up? But he was exhausted!" Rikku smiled.

"One thing we learned on Yunie's trip was that the gods could be healed by their own elements. All I've got to do is find some kind of electrical charge and if its strong enough he'll be fine. Ryan, well you're right. He's too stubborn to die, but we'd better get him to someone who knows what they're doing just in case." Sakura nodded.

"I guess that means I get healed by ice then…" Rikku looked at her oddly. "The reason I'm here is because Matt-san and Ryan-san claimed I was the goddess of ice, or something like that. And that they needed my help." A startled cry of surprise and the sound of some machine breaking drew both girls attention down the hall.

"That came from Matt's room!" Rikku was half way to the door before she finished. Before she could open it, the door flew open under its own power and Matt stepped out, looking half asleep and with singe marks on his right hand, but otherwise fine. "What the heck? Matt, what happened to you?"

"Rikku, Sakura-san? Oh, nothing. I just woke up to find some kind of sharp object poking me, and did the natural thing." He shrugged. "I broke the arm that was holding it, discovered that it had electric wires in it and healed myself." Sakura looked at him like he was crazy and he smiled. "Yeah, sounds odd but its true. You'll get used to me doing that a lot."

"Right…" Sakura just shook her head with sarcastic displeasure.

"So, is this the same airship or a new one?" Matt asked as he looked at the new paintjob on the walls of the hallway. "I find it hard to believe that Cid would've let you paint his baby willingly."

"Well, we sort of won it in a bet with him." Rikku said before she hugged Matt. Despite the fact that she was being gentle the two toppled to the ground as the airship slowed down without warning.

"Ummm… not that I mind being trapped under a beautiful woman, but don't you think you should save this for Ryan?" Rikku rolled off and laughed.

"Sorry, I didn't the ship was going to slow down." Matt rubbed the back of his head.

"Geez, and Ryan dealt with this for _how _long two years ago?" He asked sarcastically. Rikku frowned jokingly but said nothing. "Anyway, where are we?"

"You don't wanna know what happened in the fight?" Sakura asked, more then slightly surprised.

"Well you're still alive, and Rikku's not crying her brains out so that means Ryan's more then likely still alive. The guy I was fighting was weaponless, and Nick's been known to be annoyingly efficient at avoiding magic in the past, so he probably survived. So, no, not really. So long as everyone's alive, I don't care if we lost… for now."

Rikku rolled her eyes. "Men."

"I agree, Rikku-chan." Sakura muttered as the three started back towards the bridge.

"Matt?" Everyone in the ship shared Yuna's surprise when the thunder god walked onto the bridge. "You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I kind of… checked myself out of the medical wing, you could say. Although, I have to admit, now I owe Rikku and the pilot a machina…" Matt shrugged. "So, what have you two been up to since we left?"

"Well, we've been hunting spheres." Yuna smiled and Rikku nodded as she walked over to the remaining free station. "We fly all over Spira in this, the Celsius, and hunt down spheres."

"So that's why you were in those ruins." Yuna nodded. "So, I assume from the speed we're going that we're headed towards another sphere?"

"That's right. Buddy got some data." The Al Bhed to the left of the pilot raised his hand but didn't look back. "We're heading to Besaid for a while, then it's off to Zanarkand!"

"Besaid…" Matt smiled slightly. 'The place where all of our adventures in Spira began.'

"Matt, you sure you're ok?" Nick asked while waving a hand in front of his friend's face. "Hello."

Matt batted the hand away. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Just remembering some of the things that happened on Besaid last time we were there."

"Such as…" Nick prompted.

"Well, there was the pathetic attempt to kill a lone coyote." Yuna said with a smile.

"Hey, we killed it, didn't we? We'd have been fine if we hadn't lost that third one on the beach."

"But instead Lu had to save you." Matt sighed at the memory. "And afterwards she hit Ryan with a thunder bolt." Nick and Rikku burst into laughter, but Paine turned to face Matt. She looked him over and then, shaking her head as if disappointed, walked off the bridge.

"What's her problem?" Matt wondered as the door hissed shut.

"She doesn't understand how powerful Lusniec and whoever was with him were." Yuna said somewhat apologetically. "She thinks you and Ryan are pushovers."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Oh well."

888

"Why did we run, Lusniec?" The masked man asked his ally once they were safely back on Lusniec's plane. The angel ignored him as he tore open another portal, this one revealing a frozen landscape. "What are you doing?"

"While I was fighting with Ryan one of the gods interfered." Lusniec growled. "I think I know which god broke the rules."

"How is that?"

"She's the one that's always breaking the rules." Lusniec replied as he stepped out of his dimension and into the frozen landscape. "Usi! Where are you?"

The wind picked up slightly, "As demanding as ever I see." A woman commented absently from behind the portal. The masked man, who had just stepped through, whipped around and found himself staring at a tall, tan woman with dazzling blue hair and green eyes. She sat calmly on a throne made entirely of ice, and despite having on a tank top and shorts, she didn't seem bothered in the least by the freezing winds that buffeted the three of them. "What is it now, Lusniec?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You interfered in my fight with Ryan." Lusniec thrust an accusing finger at the goddess who looked at him innocently. "Why?"

Usi smiled and watched him with amusement. "Oh, why is a simple. I needed to give Sakura a chance, didn't I? The only way for that to happen would be for Ryan to hurt you, badly. Although I must admit, I never expected such a non-mortal wound to hurt you so badly."

"Why don't I give you one, and then you can see exactly how badly it hurts." Lusniec drew Demon Edge and stepped forward. He raised the sword menacingly and then stopped. "Where are your weapons?"

"Oh, you mean my Tonfas?" Lusniec nodded. "Oh, they're on Besaid. In a cave there, one that not many people know about as far as I'm aware. I believe its just Ryan, Matt, and Wakka, although that will change soon."

"You mean you put them there so that Matt could sense them and get them for Sakura." Usi snorted.

"You've lost your edge, Lusniec. Matt sense aren't developed enough for him to sense them. But, yes, he will get them for Sakura. He knows they're there." She smiled icily. "And you won't interfere, will you?"

Lusniec found himself sweating despite the temperature of the dimension. Fear rolled through his body as the impact of the words, the veiled threat behind them, hit home. "Fine, you icy whore, I'll stay out of this."

"Excuse me?" Usi roared. "Lusniec, I don't care if you insult the other gods, but you will _not _insult me in _my _dimension." The angel's eyes widened as the goddess stepped off her throne, a pair of Tonfas appearing in her hands as she walked towards them. Lusniec tried to step back but found his feet frozen into place with the ice quickly spreading up his legs. "Do I make myself clear?" She asked when she was staring him eye to eye.

"Yes, my lady. I apologize." Lusniec muttered venomously. "I'll make sure to never cross that line again." Usi smiled, knowing how hard it must've been for the powerful, arrogant angel to swallow his pride like that. Even after thousands of years he still hated the fact that, push comes to shove, the gods would beat him in a fight every time. Despite all of his power and his abilities with a sword, he couldn't stand against a god that was set on killing him for ten minutes.

'Just like Ryan.' She noted absently. 'Sakura and the others don't understand just how powerful they are yet. They don't understand the truth about just how deadly their powers are.' She turned and walked back to her throne as the ice around Lusniec's feat began to melt. "Leave." She ordered. She felt the angel tear open a portal to another dimension, and felt it close. She smiled. 'I love being able to order him around like that.'

888

"It'll take another day to get to Besaid." Rikku told the group from her station on the bridge. "You'd better get some sleep, no telling what we'll find there."

"And now we have a pair of wannabes to baby-sit." Paine muttered as she turned to walk off the bridge. She found herself staring eye-to-eye with Matt and frowned. "Move."

"You know, you seem to have a real problem with me and Ryan." Matt stepped to the side to stay in front of Paine when she tried to move around him. "Why is that?"

"You're weak." Paine replied bluntly.

"Oh boy. No bloodshed inside the Celsius!" Rikku yelled warningly.

"Weak? Really?" Matt asked in an amused voice. "Nick, what do you think sensei would say to that?"

Nick tapped his chin and pretended to think. "Well, knowing him he'd probably agree." Nick avoided naming Auron, just as the four had agreed their second day with the Ronso. It'd been the last thing Auron had asked of them before they left.

"Eh, guess that's true. He always was such a pain in the ass." Matt moved again to stay in front of Paine. "However, as big a pain in the ass as he was, he had every right to say it. He did kick our ass every time we fought him."

"You see? Three against one and you still lost. Now move." Matt stayed in front of her and she glared at him. "Last chance."

"Try it." Matt dared. Instantly Paine's leg flew up towards Matt's groin, but the god simply stepped back and avoided it. "Too slow, try again."

"No! No more, wait until we're not inside the Celsius or Brother'll kill me!" Brother turned so he could see the commotion from the pilot seat and nearly freaked when he saw Matt and Paine squaring off.

"Stop! Gullwings not fight each other!" Paine looked at him like he was crazy, while Yuna and Rikku looked at him with excitement and joy written on their faces. Matt, Sakura, and Nick just watched, not sure what he meant by Gullwings not fight each other.

"You mean they can join?" Rikku practically jumped out of her station.

"If that is what Yuna wants." Brother replied calmly.

"Thank you, Brother!" Yuna nodded her gratitude. "Well, I guess that means that you'll have to wait until we get to Besaid to finish your match. But no real weapons, and no hurting each other too badly. Got it?"

"Fine with me." Matt said casually. Paine nodded and shoved past him. "You could've said excuse me."

"I'm sorry, Matt. Paine can be somewhat, cold, at times. But she's a good Sphere Hunter, and she's good in a fight. I'm sure once she sees you fighting someone less powerful than Lusniec's partner she'll understand that you're not weak."

"Maybe, maybe not. We'll just have to wait and see."

888

Ryan found himself standing in the middle of the Jedi Counsel. Some of the Jedi present were only holograms that displayed them in blue-transparent forms alone, but some of the Jedi that Ryan was more familiar with were there in the flesh. Plo Koon, Mace Windu, Yoda, Yaddle, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and Adi Gallia were from present at first, but slowly more Jedi Masters appeared. Obi-Wan Kenobi from episode three, along with members of the consul from the New Republic including Luke Skywalker himself, Kyp Durron who had destroyed an entire star system while trapped by the dark side, Kyle Katarn who was a mercenary before becoming one of the most powerful Jedi in the new order, though he wasn't an official counsel member. He wasn't the only non-counsel Ryan saw, although many of the non-counsel members he didn't know. He did, however recognize several of them, including the Solo twins Jania and Jacen Solo, Luke's wife Mara Jade, and one of Ryan's favorite Jedi Corran Horn.

'Okay,' Ryan thought with a shake of his head, 'it's official, I've been reading too many star wars novels lately, and I've become a star wars super nerd. This is crazy.'

"Crazy this is, though listen to what we say, you should." Yoda said in his unique voice. "Powerful your foe has become, twisted by the evil inside Lusniec is."

"Yeah, I noted that." Ryan said nervously.

"When last you encountered him, you didn't trust your instincts." Mace Windu said as he leaned forward. "Why? They've served you well in the past."

"Well, to be honest, until I met back up with Lusniec they'd just gotten me pummeled by Auron. He taught Matt, Nick, and myself to think about our foes rather then rely on blind instinct. And my instincts haven't served me as well as you seem to believe in the past."

Yoda closed his eyes in thought. "The truth this boy speaks."

"When have your instincts not served you well?" Kyp asked, also leaning forward.

"Last time I fought with Lusniec all that saved me was a million-and-one shot with the succession technique of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style." Ryan shivered at the memory. "I just got lucky."

"There is no such thing as luck in my experience." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"Yeah, well. When you beat the strongest swordsman to ever live, a lot of it involves a lot of luck." Ryan shook his head, still amazed at the fact that he was speaking to members of the Jedi order, people who never truly lived.

"You trusted your instincts before, and won a battle against a foe you claim you cannot defeat on an even field. And yet you stand before us and deny that you have the abilities to defeat him."

Ryan's expression hardened and he felt a wave of defiance rush through him. "I deny that I can defeat him with instincts alone. I deny that I can defeat him with intelligence alone. I do _not _claim to be unable to defeat him."

"If you cannot out think your opponent, and your instincts alone cannot defeat him, how then are you able to say that you can defeat him?" Corran questioned quietly.

"I beat Lusniec before, and I'll find a way to beat him again." He turned and met the gaze of each Jedi in the council before continuing, "I won't let him hurt anyone else. That's what I do. I protect my friends."

"Your feelings for your friends are very strong." Luke noted.

"They _will _betray you again." His wife, Mara Jade, added in the following silence. "Perhaps severing those ties would be the wisest course of action."

Ryan felt anger race through him at the comment. The Jedi watched him calmly as he struggled with his inner anger. "Do, or do not. There is no try." Ryan said finally. The Jedi looked at him with puzzled expressions. "That is the way of the force, correct Master Yoda?" The ancient Jedi nodded. "Then I give you one piece of advice: do or do not. If you brought me here to lecture me, then do it. If not, then stop wasting my time."

"Much anger I sense in you." Yoda countered. "Much fear I sense in you. Your anger hides its focus from me. Hate someone you do, but who?"

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate to suffering. Believe me, I know what you mean by that." Ryan avoided the Jedi's question, not sure he even knew who he was angry at anymore.

"What thought you, when Lusniec you wounded?" Yoda's old voice broke another silence.

"What?"

"What thought you, when Lusniec you wounded?" Yoda repeated calmly.

"Uh… I… don't know. Why?"

"Clear your mind, you did. Fought without hatred or anger, and won you could have. Instead, use your anger and hate and suffering you did. Died you should have, saved you were."

"Your friend, Sakura. She fought Lusniec off while you were unconscious." Ki-Adi-Mundi informed him.

"She fought him on even footing despite her lack of experience in fights to the death and all of the anger she holds for Lusniec." Adi Gallia added.

"Sakura beat Lusniec?" Ryan didn't even bother to hide his surprise. Holding her own against Matt was one thing, but to beat Lusniec in a fair fight… Plo Koon said something that Ryan, not fluent in the Master's language, didn't understand.

"Master Plo Koon says that even though she is weaker then you, she was able to easily hold her own against someone you could not. Do you know how?"

Ryan said nothing. "She fought Lusniec without being clouded by anger or hate." Kyle Katarn said. "There was no rage, not hatred in her, just a desire to protect someone."

'Peace over anger.' Ryan thought absently.

"Hatred she had, but use it she did not." Yaddle added.

'Honor over hate.' The second part of the simplified Jedi code drifted through Ryan's mind.

"She was terrified by the thought of fighting someone who beat you so easily." Jania added in a calm voice.

"But she didn't give into her fear." Her twin, Jacen finished.

'Strength over fear.' The last line of the simplified Jedi code came floating into his quiet mind. Ryan shook his head at his own stupidity. 'I'm getting berated in my own dreams, by people who exist only in books, movies, and video games, and they're right.' Some of the counsel members smiled gently at him.

"Arrogance is a flaw that can undo even the greatest of warriors. You assumed that you could defeat Lusniec again since you'd beaten him once before." Obi-Wan's commented was dead on and Ryan knew it.

"Then when you started to lose you got angry at yourself for being so stupid, and angry at Lusniec for proving you wrong." This time it was Master Windu who's comment struck on.

"You will have to face Lusniec again." Luke stated. "You cannot beat him with anger alone."

"Keep a clear mind," Master Windu's voice suddenly sounded like it was coming from across a large distance, "and do not allow your anger or hatred to rule your instincts."

"Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." Yaddle's voice was also growing quieter.

"Do or do not. There is no try." Now not only were the masters' voices fading away, their images were as well. Ryan looked around at the disappearing Jedi and found them smiling back at him.

"The truest victory," Corran said as he began to disappear, "is turning the enemy to your cause. Not all who live in darkness are lost to it."

888

"I'm a little nervous." Yuna commented as they walked down the boarding ramp and onto Besaid island.

"I bet, the way you took off without a word." Rikku added with an amused smile.

"Yeah, you said it." Wakka agreed as he came walking down the path to the village. "You caused quite a fuss, young lady."

"I'm sorry." Wakka smiled gently.

"Well, as long as you're okay, ya?" He looked Paine and Matt over. "Your friends?"

Yuna nodded. "This is Paine. She's helping Rikku and I look for spheres." Paine nodded slightly.

"Who's he?" Wakka motioned to Matt. "He looks familiar, sorta. Not sure why though, ya?"

"We thought the same thing too, Wakka!" Rikku added as she glanced up at Matt who was taking in the beautiful Besaid scenery through his sunglasses. "Hey, take off your sunglasses, see if he can't recognize you." Matt sighed and took the glasses off. Wakka squinted at him but shook his head.

"Now he looks familiar but I dunno why." Matt smiled.

"Well, you did better then Kimahri. He attacked right away." Matt said with a laugh. "Lets see if I can't refresh your memory." A ball of lighting jumped into his hand and Wakka stared in disbelief.

"Matt, is that you, brudda?" The thunder god's smile grew and he nodded. "Wow! Welcome back, brudda! There've been a lot of guys pretendin' to be you, or Ryan, or Andy lately. They been poppin' up all over Spira. But if Yuna says it's you, then I don't doubt it." Wakka laughed. "You're a little early though, ain't ya brudda?"

"Are you complaining?" Matt asked with a mock-hurt voice.

"Nah, just pointin' it out. Anyway, you're a Sphere Hunter now," he said as he turned back to face Yuna, "I heard the rumors. To tell you the truth, I wasn't too worried. Gotta say, though… you, uh, do seem pretty different."

"You haven't changed a bit, tubby." Rikku said as she elbowed him in the stomach.

"Whoa! Cut it out, ya! I'm gonna be a father soon. Gotta have a little more presence, you know?" Matt's eyes nearly fell out of his head, but his sunglasses hid his surprise.

"How much longer?" Yuna asked.

"Any day now?" Matt smiled at Wakka's answer. He clearly had no idea.

"Wakka, a daddy!" Rikku cried happily.

"Dnortih help us." Matt added jokingly.

"Hey, that wasn't nice, ya? But to tell the truth, I sure don't feel like one. I mean, how do I know how a father's supposed to act in front of his kid?"

"You could do what your parents did…" Wakka shook his head at Matt's suggestion.

"Don't remember'em. Sin saw to that when I was little." He informed them.

"You don't have any spheres of them?" Wakka shook his head again.

"Nah, not a single--" He stopped in mid-sentence.

"What's wrong?" Rikku asked.

"Oh, uh… nothing, nothing. Anyway, do me a favor and go say hi to Lu. She's been worried about you. Get going!" Before the group could say anything Wakka took off back into the island.

"That was… odd, to say the least." Matt pointed out as the group started towards the village. It didn't take them long to find, despite the few fiends they had to dispose of. When they reached the village Wakka was nowhere to be seen.

"Welcome back." Lulu said as they walked into her hut. "Matt, I'm surprised to see you back so soon."

Matt nodded his head. "Wakka told you?"

"No." She smiled at the slightly confused look on his face. "I like to think I'm more observant that most of the people in Spira. The way you walk, it's exactly the same as two years ago."

"Well it's good to see you're observant as ever. It's good to see you, Lu." The mage smiled.

"So tell us about the baby! It's gonna be born soon, right?" Rikku asked hopefully.

"Hm. Not yet. Wakka's getting a little ahead of himself." Lulu said with a chuckle.

"Aw, bummer." Rikku complained.

"So, care to go for a walk?" Lulu was already standing up as she asked the question.

"Can you?" Yuna asked with concern.

"I could use the exercise. Come on." She led the group to a hill overlooking the village before stopping and turning to Yuna. "So, what's so important that you'd run off without telling us?"

Yuna pulled out a sphere and handed it to Lu. "This."

"The sphere. Wakka told me about it." Lu commented as she took the sphere and activated it. Matt stepped behind her and watched over her shoulder as the images of Tidus played across the screen.

'No, not Tidus.' He thought as it ended. 'But someone who looks a lot like him, that's for sure.'

"Kimahri said he found it on Mt. Gagazet." Rikku told them.

"It does look like him. Though something seems a little off." Matt nodded in agreement. "Have you found anything?"

"Nothing. But there's still lots of places we haven't looked yet." Lulu smiled at her friends.

"Must be fun, being free to go where you please."

"It is fun, I never expected a journey quiet like this one." Yuna admitted.

"And I'm not there, so you can spread you wings." Lulu added with a hint of amusement in her voice.

Yuna smiled at her friend. "Maybe."

Lulu shook her head in mock horror. "You have spread your wings. Well, good luck. But, Yuna, never forget who you are." Yuna looked at her questioningly at the sudden change in Lu's voice. "You're the High Summoner who defeated Sin. There are those who would use that, Yuna."

"I'll be alright." Yuna said reassuringly. "I won't let myself be used anymore. Not by anyone."

"And even if someone did want to use her," Matt hefted Lightning Edge, "they'd just end up well-done. Nobody uses my friends."

Lulu put a hand on her stomach. "It kicked." She said happily.

"Really?" Yuna asked with a hint of disbelief.

"I wanna feel!" Rikku said excitedly.

888

Sakura and Nick found themselves sitting at the refreshment bar in the Celsius, alone except for the strange bartender. Yuna had said he was a Hypello, and when he spoke it was hilarious. The first thing he'd said when they'd come in was "Ish da friendsh of Mish Yuna! What can I get for yoush?" They'd found his dialogue so hilarious at first that they'd held a two-hour conversation, adding in anything that popped into their heads to keep it going. But that had been two hours ago in itself, and now they sat in an oppressive silence.

"When do you think they'll come back?" Sakura asked finally.

"Who knows? I just don't understand why we have to sit here and do nothing for…" He looked at his watch and frowned.

"Something wrong, Nick-san?" Sakura asked when he didn't say anything.

"Yeah, that bastard deep-fried my watch and I didn't realize it." He showed her the face of the watch, which was jet black with burn marks.

"That sucks." Nick nodded and leaned back so he could stare at the ceiling. The light that was coming through the windows was starting to fade, and the Hypello, who everyone called Hypello, was starting to turn on lights as they were needed. Right now, Sakura noted absently, they only needed three lights. She stood up suddenly. "That's it. I'm going outside for awhile."

"Hey, Matt said to stay with the ship. Besides, we don't know what's out there." Sakura twirled the Tonfas that had been strapped to her hip since they'd arrived. "Geez, you really can't stand waiting around can you?"

"Can you deal with stuck in the airship all night when there's an entire island to explore?" Sakura countered with a smug look. Nick pretended to think about it for a few seconds before shaking his head.

"Ok, I guess it couldn't hurt." He admitted. "But we can't stay gone long, as much as I'd like to. If Matt comes back and finds that we left the airship, we're as good as dead." Sakura rolled her eyes but nodded. As they walked out Sakura snapped her fingers.

"We'd better check on Ryan-san. If he's awake then we don't have to worry about Matt-san being angry, right?" Nick nodded and smiled slightly. The two sprinted through the hallway until they reached the intersection that would lead them to Ryan's room. They rounded the corner and slammed into the pale, shirtless, but otherwise fine angel. The three fell to the ground in a tangled jumble of body parts. "Ryan-san! You're awake!"

"Owww…" Ryan muttered as he rubbed his head. "I won't be for long if you two keep slamming into me. What the heck is wrong?"

"Nothing, we were just coming to check up on you." Nick said as he stood up, offering Sakura a helping hand. She grabbed it, pulled herself up, and then pulled Ryan up by his arm.

"And why would you be doing that? The medical machine was working fine." His eyes held a curious glint as he studied the two.

"We were coming to see if you were awake." Nick clarified. "We've been trapped in this ship for half a day with nothing to do. We were just gonna go explore the island."

Ryan's headset crackled to life. "Nick, Sakura-san. Either of you there?"

The two fumbled with their own headsets as Ryan smiled. "Hey Matt, what's up?" he asked calmly.

"Ryan!" Rikku's excited cry burst through so clearly Ryan pulled his head set out of his ear.

"Rikku, that was really, really loud." He said when he put it back in.

"Oops. Sorry." She said in an embarrassed voice.

"Look, Lu just invited everyone to stay with her and Wakka. We were going to let Sakura-san and Nick know and tease them, but you had to wake up, didn't you?" Nick and Sakura frowned while Ryan smiled.

"Matt-san, that's just evil!" Sakura stated firmly.

"Thank you, Sakura-san. It's nice to know you can take a joke so well." Matt replied with a small laugh. "Anyway, if you wanna come down Ryan, hopefully, remembers the way to the village."

"And I'll be waiting for you, so don't take too long, got it?" Ryan bit back a laugh at Rikku's order.

Nick smiled. "Yes mom. We'll be there as soon as we can."

"Hey!" Rikku said in an annoyed voice.

"See ya soon." Ryan said before turning his headset off and heading back towards his room. When he stepped back out he had Wind Cutter and Shinagami with him and Sakura nodded her head.

"No way, Ryan-san. You're are _not _fighting _anything _until you aren't as pale as a piece of paper." She told him flatly. He looked down at his side, then back at Sakura and smiled.

"I didn't plan to. I may be stubborn, but I'm not stupid. Brining Wind Cutter and Shinagami is just a habit." He shrugged but continued to walk past them. "Besides, it doesn't take more then ten minutes to reach the village. Relax, what could go wrong?"

888

"Usi, it's rare to see you here." Vena commented as the beautiful goddess walked onto his plane. She bowed her head as she approached and he rolled his eyes. "Hey, no formalities, got it? You know I hate those."

"Right, sorry." Usi said as she sat down in the only chair that wasn't made of lava. She shifted her weight around for a few seconds, but gave up on getting comfortable since she didn't plan to stay long. And it took a while to get comfortable on rock. "Where's Andy? That is his name, right? Andy?"

Vena's friendly features iced over immediately. "What about it?"

"I noticed that he wasn't with Sakura and her friends. Seph lives in Spira, so it's no surprise he's not with them. But Andy should've been here. Where is he?"

Vena hesitated before replying. "I don't know." Usi stared at him like he'd just slapped her across the face.

"What do you mean by 'I don't know'? How can you _not _know?" She demanded as she stood up.

"As far as I know he never came to Spira! And I don't know where he is in his world. And I can't even talk to him either!" Vena roared helplessly. "It's one thing to not have an heir while you're waiting for one to come along. To have one and not be able to get in touch with him is… torture. It's torture unlike anything I've ever been through!"

"But you're his source of power. How could you not be able to get in touch with him? It'd take someone of unimaginable power to do that." Her eyes narrowed and Vena turned to look at her slowly.

"You don't think…"

888

"So Lusniec has an ally powerful enough to hold his own against Matt?" Ryan nodded slightly. "And Lusniec beat you? If that's the case, how are you two still alive?" Lulu's voice was hushed, but urgent. Ryan and Matt had gone to get some firewood and returned to find everyone but Lulu asleep. The fact that it was midnight showed that she had really wanted to talk to them.

"Sakura fought him off, according to what Yuna and Rikku told me." Matt glanced over his shoulder at the sleeping goddess. "And she doesn't even have her legendary weapon yet, either. She fought him off with plain old Tonfas."

"The power of the gods never ceases to amaze me." Lulu admitted with a smile. "But the fact that there are those who aren't gods that could stand against them… it's a bad sign."

"I don't think that the masked man was a human. In fact, given all the electricity that he took during the fight, there's no way he could be human." He glanced over at Ryan who nodded. Matt took a deep breath and turned back to a confused Lulu. "Lu, there's something we never told you before we left. You have to swear to keep it a secret."

"Even from Wakka, and Yuna?" Matt nodded. "Alright, I'll keep it a secret."

"We didn't kill Yu Yevon last time we were here." Lulu's eyes widened in horror at the statement. "To kill him all four of the gods, fire, water, ice, and thunder, have to be present. Sakura wasn't there. He's still alive, and I'm positive that it was him."

"How can you be sure?" Ryan looked at Matt, apparently sharing Lu's curiosity.

"Well, there is the fact that he wielded a morning star and a mace, just like Yu Yevon did. The second thing is that his Ultima spells nearly shattered my shield. No human mage is that powerful, no offense Lu." The mage smiled and motioned for him to continue. "The third is the fact that he said it took him a long time to find a body that could contain his power. A body, he said, that he found on Earth." Ryan's eyes widened as something horrible clicked into place in his mind.

"No way. It's not possible." He whispered in disbelief.

"What can't be possible?" Matt sighed when Lulu asked the question.

"I think the person Yu Yevon possessed was Andy." The soon-to-be mom gasped and Ryan stared at Matt numbly. "Think about it. What human could withstand the power of a god, nonetheless the strongest of the gods. None. And two years ago, after we came back to earth, Andy went insane. He started to attack us in public, and with his god powers. And just before we left to come to Spira, he disappeared. Not to mention that fire spells were the kind Yevon was using the most in our fight. All the clues just add up too well for us to assume anything else."

"This is bad." Ryan muttered absently. "Now Yevon has all of his own powers, plus all of Andy's powers. I have to admit, it's an amazing plan. But," A thin smile found its way onto Ryan's face in the flickering light given off by the fire, "it's not perfect."

"What do you mean by that? He's got twice as much power now." Matt turned to face his friend. "Did you get hit on the head too hard or something?"

"Well I did run into Sakura and Nick. With emphasis on 'run.' But that's not the point. The point is, now he'll die when we kill him no matter what." Matt was about to say something when Ryan's comment clicked into place.

"Because no matter what, all of the gods are going to _have _to be there to kill him. If he'd left Andy on earth, then he'd have almost guaranteed that he'd have won. But now that he's possessed Andy, there'll be no way for him to avoid being killed for good when he's finally killed." Matt smiled and looked at his friend. "Are you _sure _you're ok? It's not like you to be such an optimist."

"Well I almost died of blood loss, and I did hit my head. I very well may have gone crazy." Ryan shrugged at the end of the sarcastic comment. He checked his watch. "Quarter till one. I think it's time the three of us got some sleep."

"Yes. Sleep is very, very good." Matt agreed as Lulu stood up. "Night Lulu."

"Night you two." The mage smiled and walked off to her room.

"Maybe this time I won't get criticized by the Jedi councils." Ryan muttered as he laid down.

"Do I even want to know?"

"It's pretty funny." Ryan admitted. "But sleep on it. I'm too tired to explain."

888

Sakura found herself standing in the middle of a frozen wasteland. Despite the bitterly cold wind and the fact that she wasn't dressed for the weather, she once again found that it didn't bother her. "Hello? Anyone here?"

A small giggle caused Sakura to spin around with her Tonfas at the ready. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you." Usi held up both her empty hands in a gesture of peace.

"Who are you then?" The true goddess of ice smiled happily.

"My name is Usi. I'm the one who chose you to be the heir to the goddess of ice, me." Sakura's eyes widened. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Kamiya Sakura." Sakura stared at the woman, confused and somewhat terrified by her. "You seem surprised that I know you name."

"And Japanese." Sakura added. "Only Ryan-san, Matt-san, and Nick-san should know how to speak that aside from me." Usi's smile changed to one of amusement.

"Yes, well. Ryan-san doesn't have too much experience talking to the person his power comes from. After all, Lusniec-kun wants to kill him, not talk to him. Matt doesn't really rely on Dnortih unless he needs help and nobody else can help him. And other then them no one has ever spoken with the gods."

"That still doesn't explain how you know my name, Usi-san." The ice goddess's stared at each other intently for a few seconds before Usi found herself smiling again.

"You're right, it doesn't. You see, Sakura-chan, the gods don't 'speak any language but our own. If we want someone to understand us, their brain automatically understands it, just as we automatically understand the reply of the person we are speaking to. Understand, Sakura-chan?"

"I think so." Sakura admitted. She looked around for a chair only to find one right behind her. She sighed and sat down before continuing the conversation. "So why did you choose me to be your heir."

"Well, you reminded me of what I was like before I became a goddess." Sakura looked at her with her confusion evident. "Look, I'm not your typical 'everything is done for a reason' kind of god, or whatever the god, or maybe it's gods, in your world do. None of the gods in this world are. We were all mortals at one time or another. We make mistakes." She smiled. "Hopefully choosing you won't turn out to be a mistake."

"I couldn't agree more, Usi-chan." Sakura squinted at the goddess in front of her, the goddess who was slowly fading away.

"It seems that our time together is coming to an end for now, Sakura-chan. It was a pleasure to meet you." Sakura's vision blurred and she shook her head to clear it. When she opened her eyes she found herself staring at the ceiling of Lulu's hut.

"Oh, you're awake." Lulu said as she walked into the hut herself. "The rest of the group just went to look for Wakka. He left at daybreak saying something about a cave. I think Ryan and Matt went with him, since they were gone before anyone woke up."

"Thank you!" Sakura bowed her head and then stepped out into the village. She looked up at the cloudy sky and sighed. 'Please don't rain.'

888

"Ryan, tell me again why we didn't bring Sakura with us?" Matt asked as he climbed up to the ledge his friend was sitting on.

"Because she was asleep. Do you want to risk her waking up with you over her after what she did to Lusniec?" Matt shook his head and Ryan nodded. "I didn't really think so. Now hurry up, you're taking too long."

"Hey, just 'cause you've recovered enough to jump thirty feet in the air doesn't mean I won't kick your ass when I get there." Matt warned as he continued his steady climb up the cliff face. "And just so you know, it is a _lot _harder to climb up a thirty foot cliff then it is to jump up one."

"Hey, I think I found the tree we need to move." Matt looked up and found Ryan wasn't on the lip of the cliff anymore.

"Good, now wait up." Matt increased his pace so that he cleared the top in less than thirty seconds. Looking around he spotted Ryan, who was standing under a tree that seemed too large for anyone coming towards Besaid to miss it. "Wonder when this got here."

"Well, we've got to move it, so lets find out then." Matt nodded and drew Lighting Edge. A single, powerful blow nearly split the tree in two.

"Lets see your leg power do that." Matt pulled out Lightning Edge and watched in fascination as the tree healed itself. "Or that."

"That was different. My turn." Ryan dropped into position for his favorite attack. Wind Cutter flew out of its sheath a nearly invisible line appeared in the tree. But it didn't fall. Matt poked it with the head of Lightning Edge, and then punched it when it didn't fall down. Aside from hurting his hand, the punch had no affect. "Oh, this is such bull shit."

"Yeah, it is." One of the tree branches above them shook and the two looked up lazily. "What in the world?" A small animal dropped out of the tree and landed on Ryan's face. "You ok?" Ryan moved so he would have been looking Matt in the face and said something but the body of the animal muffled it to the point where he couldn't be understood. "Ok, calm down. I'll get it off." He grabbed the animal by the back of its neck and tugged gently. The creature came off Ryan's face and Matt put it in his other palm and looked at it. It was almost like a flying squirrel, but it had two tails instead of one. On top of that its body was completely black, except for its gold eyes and the few small spots of white that were scattered along its coat. "What is it?"

"Oh, just because it jumped on me I'm supposed to know?" Ryan asked sarcastically.

"Yes." The creature jumped out of Matt's hand and onto Ryan's head. "I think it likes you." The squirrel fiend stretched out, latched onto some of Ryan's hair, and then curled into a little ball.

"What the hell! What is it doing?" Matt laughed at his friend's expression.

"It's sleeping." He said finally before turning back to the tree. "But what do we do about this?"

"Ryan-kun? Matt-kun? Is that you two up there?" the two walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down to find Sakura who waved when she saw them. "What are you doing?"

"You got a rope?" Ryan pulled one out and handed it to his friend. "Sakura-chan, use this to climb up and find out!" Matt dropped one end of the rope down the cliff and tied the rest to the tree. "Thank god we got a lot." Just as Matt got all the slack out, more appeared. He glanced over and found Ryan slowly backing up with the rope in his hand. Smiling evilly, Matt grabbed the rope with both hands and gave a decent tug. Ryan went flying to the ground and Sakura shouted in surprise.

"Geez, warn me next time!" Ryan complained as he sat up. The little squirrel fiend looked over at Matt, chattered something in a squeaky voice that sounded angry, and plopped itself back onto Ryan's head. "Damn."

"Ryan-kun? What is _that_?" Sakura asked when she cleared the lip and saw the creature on Ryan's head. The angel shrugged while Sakura struggled to control her laughter. She stopped having to struggle when she noticed that, despite being on the top of one of the larger cliffs on the island, they were standing in shade. She followed it and noticed the giant tree. "How is it that I missed that when we were coming in?" The two shrugged.

"We can't get it to fall." She raised an eyebrow at them.

"Loose your edge?" The two spun around and slashed the tree, which once again healed itself. Sakura stared at it open-jawed.

"Your jaw's on the ground." Matt's commented caused Sakura to shut her jaw instantly.

:Sakura-chan, it's Usi. Reach into the tree.:

'Usi-chan? Reach _into _the tree? How, exactly do I do that?' Sakura rolled her eyes at the amused feeling Usi sent her.

:Just trust me, Sakura-chan.: muttering to herself Sakura stepped past Ryan and Matt and stopped in front of the tree. :Just reach in. It'll be fine.:

"Easy for you to say." Despite her grumbled complaints Sakura complied, and she once again found herself staring open jawed at what she saw.

"Did your hands just go _through _that damn tree?" Matt asked in disbelief. Sakura nodded numbly while moving her hands around inside the warm tree innards.

:Move your hands around until you feel something ice cold, and then pull it out.: Sakura sat there for a few seconds before finding what Usi had been talking about. She yanked the ice-cold object out of the tree without hesitating. When her hands were out she examined the box they were holding. :Open it.:

'You sure are bossy.' Sakura thought as she opened the box and found a pair of white Tonfas resting in it. "Tonfas?" She touched one and pulled her hand back. 'They're ice-cold.'

:They're called 'Frozen Wood' and they're yours and yours alone. Nobody else will be able to withstand how cold they are long enough to use them. You, while it may be somewhat cold to your touch, will never have that problem.:

'That's good to know.' Sakura thought as she picked the Tonfas up and twirled them a few times. 'These are better then my old Tonfas.' She glanced down at the Tonfas she'd been using. 'Well, better safe then sorry.'

"Well, I guess that means that we can go help Wakka now." Ryan stretched his back before walking over to the cliff. "See ya at the bottom."

"Ryan-kun, wait!" Sakura yelled as he backed up off the bridge.

"Chill out, Sakura-chan." Matt pointed to some falling feathers. "He's got his wings, he'll be fine."

"Wings?" she looked at him like he was insane. "What are you talking about, 'wings'? He just walked over a thirty foot cliff!" Matt coughed and pointed towards the edge of the cliff. Sakura followed his finger to where Ryan was hovering in mid-air, a pair of wings that must have reached twelve feet, and wearing an amused look.

"Sakura-chan. I didn't know you cared." He said sarcastically. "Now hurry up, Yuna says they figured out how to open up some cave that you need a code for."

888

"What kept you?" Paine asked when she noticed the three walking towards them. Rikku, who had been fiddling with a machina at the door, turned and waved excitedly.

"We ran into a tree that healed itself." Matt replied as the door slid open.

"Gotcha!" Rikku pulled out a pair of red daggers. "After all of you."

"There's no light in there." Nick noted from where he was sitting. "Once we're away from the door, how do you expect us to see?"

"You've done nothing but complain all morning! If you're gonna keep being cranky then go back to Lu's hut, so she can zap you." Rikku replied.

"Zap me?" Nick raised an eyebrow until a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground next to him. A lightning bolt, Ryan and Matt noted, that didn't make Rikku jump or even look a little scared.

"Zap you." Matt repeated. "Any questions?" Nick shook his head as Matt and Ryan led the way into the cave.

"Something wrong?" Wakka asked as they came into view of the blitzer, who appeared to be sitting doing nothing. The blood on the edges of World Champion, which lay in easy reach, said otherwise.

"We came to check on you." Yuna explained.

"Is there something in this cave?"

Wakka shrugged. "Uh, yeah… something like that. Who knows, maybe it's not here, ya? But I thought, "what if…" maybe it's for real. Then again, maybe it never was. Been so long, I'm not sure anymore."

"So, you're saying there's something that might be here, and you want to know for sure. Right?"

Wakka nodded to Paine's comment before replying, "Right. But you see… I wanna know, and I sorta don't wanna know."

"Good old Wakka." Ryan commented jokingly.

"Aw, man, make up your mind! What is this thing, anyway?" All eyes went back to Wakka as everyone waited for him to answer the Al Bhed's question.

"Well, uh… see, I heard there was this old sphere." Wakka told them.

"A sphere?" Rikku suddenly seemed interested. "Of what?"

Wakka hesitated. "A sphere of… you know. What does it matter?" Before anyone could answer Wakka's question Paine and Nick started to walk farther into the cave. "Hey, whoa!"

"We're Sphere Hunters, remember?" Paine asked without slowing down.

"It's as good as ours!" Rikku gave Wakka a reassuring smile.

"All right, Gullwings…" Yuna said as she started into the cave as well.

"Time for business?" Ryan asked as he drew Wind Cutter.

"Exactly!" Rikku agreed.

"Besides, this conversation is getting really boring." Nick added as the group disappeared into the darkness, light only by the gentle glow Wind Cutter was giving off, and the lightning arching around Lightning Edge. The group navigated the darkness in silence until they rounded a corner and found a sphere lying on a pedestal across a gap in the ground with nothing but stones to help jump across.

"Damn jumper." Matt muttered as Ryan stepped back, took a running start, and cleared the gap in a single jump, much to Paine's surprise. The group filed across one by one, Ryan and Matt hanging back while the others examined the sphere. "This is too easy."

"I agree." The angel shifted his weight uneasily. "I just wish I knew what was going to happen next." A slight tremor ran through the ground from behind the two. They looked back and saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring back at them. "Well, guess I know what's going to happen next, don't I?"

"You just had to fucking say something, didn't you?" Despite the situation there was a great deal of sarcasm in Matt's response.

"What are you two freaking out about?" Rikku wondered, glancing back at her friends from her spot at the sphere. "And why is the ground shaking?"

A dragon pulled itself up onto the small area, and Matt and Ryan were forced to give ground as it pulled its massive bulk up. "Find a sphere and the fiends appear." There was a hint of anticipation in Paine's voice as she drew her sword.

"Always so much damn work around you two." Nick muttered as he prepared for battle.

"Anyone got some kinda anti-dragon attack?" Sakura asked nervously.

"We've got a few, but they're a bit too powerful for this thing." Matt said with a grin. The dragon roared and fire formed in the back of its mouth. "Ryan." Flames slammed into the two, but never passed over them.

"What in Spira?" Paine wondered aloud as she watched the flames stop a hairs breath away from the two, now smirking, teens.

"Ryan's shield, maybe?" Rikku suggested.

"It could be Matt's thunder." Yuna added in.

"What are you two talking about?" Paine demanded.

"Well, Ryan can make an invisible shield purely out of holy energy. And Matt, being the god of thunder, is automatically protected by a shield of thunder that activates whenever something tries to hurt him." Paine looked at Rikku calmly. "It may be hard to believe, but it's true."

The flames slowly died away, revealing an angry dragon standing in front of the two powerful warriors. "Hey, Paine. You questioned how powerful we were?" Matt didn't bother to look over his should, already knowing the answer to his question.

"Well, I guess that means I don't have to do anything." Ryan stepped back and watched as the dragon glared at Matt, who held its attention for a full minute before it attacked. Its mouth flashed out at Matt faster then the god had thought possible. Before Matt had the chance to jump back Paine's sword appeared in-between him and the dragon's fangs.

"Go!" Matt rolled his eyes at her order.

"I don't think so." He stepped forward when the two broke apart and dropped Lightning Edge to the ground. "Come on you over grown lizard, I haven't got all day." The dragon roared and launched forward again with surprising speed. Matt smiled and grabbed the top jaw with a single hand. The dragon's charged stopped and Matt gave it a sympathetic look. "Well, sorry big guy. You just happened to pick the wrong god to mess with." He grabbed the lower jaw. "See ya on the Farplane." Matt's muscles tensed as he started to pull. The dragon watched in horror, helpless against Matt's strength. He grunted as the jaws reached the spot that was as far as they could go. Naturally, anyway. With another grunt his muscles corded and the jaws' natural limit shattered. Blood sprayed over the group as everyone but Ryan watched wide-eyed at the display of amazing power as the jaws were ripped completely off the dragon, which fell back into the pit it had climbed out of.

"Always with the muscles. Always. This is why I don't wear white!" Matt laughed at Ryan's annoyed comments.

"Matt-kun, that was… amazing." Sakura looked at the now red walls around them. "Disgusting, admittedly, but amazing."

"So much for him being a pushover, eh?" Nick asked as he nudged Paine in the side. A single, icy glare ended the situation before anyone else even noticed it.

"One more for the Gullwings!" Yuna said cheerfully.

"Well, now that Matt's covered us all in blood, and in the process guaranteed that Lu and Wakka are going to wonder what we could've done in a cave, shall we go back and check in?" The group nodded and headed off laughing.

"Find anything?" Wakka asked when they saw him, still sitting in the same spot he'd been sitting in. He looked at them more fully as they moved into the light. "What happened to you guys, ya?"

"We found a sphere. And then we found a fiend. Then Matt here ripped off its jaws." Wakka just stared at Matt with amazement plain on his face.

"But we did get the sphere!" Yuna pulled the sphere out of a pocket.

"Let's take a look." The former high Summoner and her friends gathered around the sphere while Matt, Ryan, and Nick walked over to a couple of rocks and sat down.

"This it?" Rikku asked as the sphere ended.

"Nah, 'fraid not." Wakka shrugged helplessly. "We'd better get back before Lu gets too worried 'bout us."

"So, what sphere were you looking for?" Rikku asked as they walked along.

Wakka hesitated for a few seconds. "Well… it's a sphere of our parents. Chappu said he found it."

"He was your brother, right?" Wakka nodded and Ryan shrugged at Matt's slightly surprised look. "I don't forget _everything_."

"He was a crusader." Wakka sighed. "Now he'd gone on to the Farplane. Sin got our parents not long after Chappu was born. We were too young to remember their faces, you know? When we were kids we got into a fight one time, and Chappu said: I found a sphere with mom and dad in it, but I'm not telling you where it is!"

"And you never asked him?" Yuna looked at Wakka who never broke his stride.

"I was too boneheaded to let my little brother win. So I went on without asking until I just forgot about it." He shrugged helplessly. "Then yesterday, talking with you made me think about it again. Chappu used to play in that cave, so I thought maybe he found the sphere there, ya? But when I came to look… I got to thinking."

"Wow, there's a surprise." Ryan said jokingly.

"Hey, that was uncalled for, brudda." Wakka let out a laugh. Anyway, I got this picture of my parents in my head, ya? Strong, and kind… whenever things got tough, those are the parents I imagined. But their real faces might be totally different, ya? I think about that, and I'm not so sure I really wanna know. I was sittin' there trying to figure out what to do. And then you guys showed up."

"That's are Wakka." Rikku said lightheartedly.

"Yeah, confusing as ever." Matt added.

"The sphere might still be somewhere on the island." Yuna pointed out. "Should we look for it?"

Wakka thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "Nah, that's all right. I'm through worrying about that stuff. What's past is past, ya? Can't let it get to me. I'm gonna be a father soon. Gotta pull it together!"

"That's right, dad." Rikku teased with a smile.

"But, uh… Just how am I supposed to pull it together? Sure wish I had something to go by, you know?" Wakka glanced back at the annoyed looking group.

Before they could say anything else their comm system crackled and then Buddy's voice came through the static, "You read me? You guys about finished down there? Brother's getting on my nerves." The sound of his voice showed that 'getting on my nerves' was probably a gross understatement.

"Yeah, we'll be back soon." Yuna said with a slight smile at Brother's happy shout. The Gullwings sprinted through the town, only stopping to say bye to Lulu, and were on the beach just as the Celsius was landing. "Where to now?"

"We've actually got a couple of reports of Leblanc's two lackeys at Mushroom Rock Road. Maybe we should check it out?" Yuna nodded. "Alright, we're headin' to Mushroom Rock Road everyone! Please fasten all trays in the upright position, and buckle your seat belts. Thank you, and we hope you enjoy flying AirCelsius." The Gullwings laughed at the joke as they went their own ways.

Sakura watched them go somewhat sadly. Especially Ryan and Rikku who just decided to wander through the halls and enjoy each other's company. 'Two years away from someone you love, guess I can't really blame them.' Then there was Nick, who also decided to wander through the hallways, although he went alone. Paine took up the spot where she always was on the bridge, while Yuna spent her time talking to everyone on the ship.

"Something wrong?" Matt's voice snapped her back to reality. "You look kinda sad."

"Yeah, maybe a little." A small smile tugged at Matt's lips. "What?"

"How can you be sad with Rikku on the ship? It just… doesn't happen. She's too energetic."

"Yes, she is." Matt stared at Paine, clearly surprised that she agreed with him.

"Wow… she agreed with me…" Paine ignored the comment and went back to watching out the window in a way that made it seem like she was expecting someone to come bursting through the windshield.

"Hey, maybe Paine-san isn't so bad after all." Matt smiled at the whispered tone.

"Look, in case you haven't noticed over the past, what, two weeks? Well, in case you haven't noticed I'm _not _the greatest at making people feel welcome. Or being social for that matter."

"Really, never would've guessed." Sakura replied sarcastically.

"I also don't usually talk to girls."

"Afraid?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"No common interests." He replied calmly. "And they tend to not like my personality. I'm slightly anti-social, big deal. You should've seen Kimahri during Yuna's pilgrimage two years ago. He barely spoke at all. Certainly a lot less than he did when you were around him."

"Yeah, I miss the old tiger." Sakura laughed at Matt's amused look. "What? Kimahri-sama was the first… person that I made friends with on Spira. And he a great sparring partner."

Matt put on a mock-hurt look. "And I'm not?"

"No." Sakura smiled slightly.

"Is that so?"

"Yep." She replied calmly. "Why, got a problem with it?"

"What if I do?" One of Sakura's Tonfas went flying past his nose so closely that he saw a bead of sweat hit the ground. "Is that your answer?" Sakura smiled as she twirled her Tonfas. "Well then, guess I'll just have to correct that decision."

"Think you can?"

Matt smiled at his friend. The first friend, he realized, that either he or Ryan had made in two years. "Well, didn't I win last time?"

She looked at him like he was crazy. "Last time I didn't know I was fighting a god, Matt-kun. Nor, for that matter, did I know _I _was a goddess." She smiled smugly. "And I took down someone that Ryan-kun couldn't take down."

"Right, Lusniec. Heard about that, good job. But Lusniec isn't a god."

"He's not?" Sakura stared at him. "With his strength, he _wasn't _a god?"

"Yeah, whether or not you choose to believe it. He's just an angel, although now I think he's more akin to a devil. But, regardless of his morals, or mental stability, or even his sexual preferences, he's a damn good fighter. Ryan barely beat him with the final attack of his style."

"Wow." Sakura stretched out as they walked down the hallways of the airship. "Well, at any rate. Think you can at least try to not… I dunno, give me a concussion? That really hurt."

"Ok, two things. First, I didn't give you a _concussion_. I just kneed you in the head really hard. Second, even if I do, Ryan's really good with healing magic. How do you think he was walking in two days when he lost so much blood?"

"Good point." Sakura admitted. "Very good point. But I've still got one question."

"What's that?"

"Whatever happened to going to that Zanarkand place?" Matt laughed as he walked into his room.

* * *

well, did anyone see that andy/yu yevon thing coming? well, i thought it'd be a neat idea. and don't worry, the action'll pick up soon. just have to get past all the boring beginning stuff. wait until we break into Leblanc's house... heh heh heh... anyway, read, review, i accept reviews from people without accounts, FYI (hint hint) and until next time: DON'T DO NOTHING STUPID WITHOUT ME! 


	4. Twists

i'm back! and, i know, it certainly took long enough. but, hey, when you've got twist like i've got, you've gotta make sure they _work _and that's why it took so long. that and my sister and her friend kept stealing the computer, and on top of that i got writer's block. anyway, onto the reviews!

Anasazi Darkmoon- yeah, andy's possesed by Yu Yevon. i'm glad you liked the jedi council dream. ryan lost a LOT of blood against lusniec... and i'm glad you liked the chapter in general. i write to please my fans.

OCadam- one of the _best_? wow... thanks. yes, i thought andy being possesed was just a great plot twist. actually, the person he's based off of liked it to... and as for reading you fic, why not? i need something to do when i have writer's block. maybe it'll inspire me... gods know i need it... anyway, i'll try and update sooner, but i'm not making any promises!

Da KeR MysTeRr- well you weren't wrong. hate it when that happens, do you? and besides, i love my fans, i would never make fun of them... unless i know them personally like lightingwizard and Sephirothxx. anyway, you fought to stay on and read my story? wow, thanks. and you haven't seen any of the star wars movies? what's wrong with you? oh, well, yeah. the squierll thing, i dunno, i actually took it from Naruto fic that i never finished a chapter in... and tell your brother i'm sorry, i know what it's like to be woken up by people laughing. as for your friend, colleen, have her read and review! or does she already? if not, it's always nice to get a new fan! and as you said, until next time, toodles.

Auron's Fan- yes, that is a great quote. and a true one. and, maybe you are, we'll see how it goes. yeah, Yu Yevon's a sick bastard, but no surprise there, right? as for sakura sticking her hand into the tree... she's a goddess? and it's where he legendary weapon is. that's my excuse. and what's that behind you... is it.. POLLY! run away!

locko- well thank you. i'm glad you like my books.

Nygenn- ah, sorry 'bout that. too many characters, the true flaw of my stories. anyway, yeah, you guessed right. a lot of people did. i'm loosing my touch... or you're all getting really good insight... or both... as for where it's going, you'll understand later on, like, the final fight or something, but later on none the less. and ryan's powers with matt's attitude... scary thought.

Sephirothxx- yeah, the beginning of stories tend to lack fighting. actually,X-2 didn't seem to have much fighting as compared to X... oh well. as for looking into your fics, i'll see what i can do. who knows, if they're good maybe i'll evevn give you a shout out.

labrat-seph- yes, jedi are awesome. i'm actually working on a star wars fic when i'm not on the computer... but it's not very long. yeah, paine had a right to assume what she did. as for her fighting them, no comment. and yeah, reading and reviewing in the same day does tend to help... but at least no one can say you don't review!

Plum-chan- yeah, ryan is weaker then the other gods... for now. i'm thinking of changing that, tho by the end of book three his power's are almoost nothing compared to the power of the gods. anyway, moving on. ryan and matt were hanging back on the side with the sphere, but that wasn't very clear. and, yes, we shall assume that otherwise my story was perfect. i like that idea :). and so l ong as you get to it, i don't mind.

BOrn-Slippy- yeah, ryan, matt, and andy for four books WOULD be boring. yeah, it was a big disappointment, especially the final fight. which, might i say, is going to be SIGNIFICANTLLY better in my story. and it's going to have a few... uh, twists... shall we say? actually, it should have certain fans bursting with joy, and just about everyone else confused as all hell... but that's ok. and I inspired YOU to write a fic? wow, didn't realize i was that good... heh. yay! anyway, when you review let me know what the title is so i can check it out. and, yes, you DO like to whine. and don't worry, i will.

well, now that all that's over with... on to the chapter!

* * *

Twists 

"Think you'll be able to beat Lusniec next time?" Rikku asked when her and Ryan had found themselves alone. "I mean, is it even worth trying?"

"What, worried or something?"

"Aren't you?" Ryan shrugged. "He nearly killed you, and now that he knows you're back he's going to come back to finish the job! How can you not be scared?"

"Rikku, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna fight him unless I have to." He sighed. "And if I do have to, then I'll just have to win." She glared at him and he sighed. "Look, I'm pretty sure that that wasn't what you wanted to hear, right?"

"What was your first clue?" Rikku snapped.

"Well, the glare was first, the angry tone was second…" He smiled slightly. "But I know how to beat him." She rolled her eyes. "You don't believe me?"

"After what he did, should I?"

"Ok, that's a good point." Ryan stretched and looked at Rikku, who was visibly annoyed with him. "You're not going to believe me, are you?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I don't want to see you die! You're always thinking about other peoples' safety, but what about your own?"

"You're right." She stared at him in amazement. "Matt can take care of himself, Nick can take care of himself, you can take care of yourself, and Yuna can take care of herself. Since Paine was so eager to fight that dragon on Besaid I think it's safe to say that she can take care of herself. That only leaves Sakura, and she's coming along quickly. I've got to learn that my friends can take care of themselves, and start worrying more about myself." Rikku pressed a hand to his forehead.

"You feeling ok?" Ryan laughed.

"Yeah, well. Two years is a long time to see things in a different perspective."

"Care to elaborate, Mr. Philosophy?" She asked in a teasing voice. Ryan smiled and cleared his throat sarcastically.

"Well, my dear student, if you truly wish for me to elaborate, then I shall be forced to submit to your wishes." Rikku fell to the ground laughing at the hilarious voice. Ryan smiled, glad to see her happy and back to the way she was two years ago, and then continued, "Oh dear, oh my. I do believe that I've caused a small mess, now haven't I? My, my, whatever shall I do to help this pour woman out?" He sat down next to Rikku who smiled, and suddenly the world seemed right as their lips met.

888

"Ready?" Sakura glared at him and Matt looked back helplessly.

"I didn't help you clear all these tables away just to stand here and chat." She dropped into her ready stance and Matt smiled slightly.

'At least she's got a better attitude then Paine does.' Matt thought as the two began. He brought Lightning Edge to the side, but continued his rotation instead of attacking the way Sakura had expected. Sakura threw herself to the ground, spun around, and tried to knock Matt's legs out from under him. He hopped over the attack and then ducked under the follow-up. Matt slammed one foot down, pushed himself into a spin, and brought Lightning Edge around faster then Sakura had ever seen him. Her arms went numb under the strength of the blow, and she went flying back several feet before doing a back flip and landing in a crouched position.

"Ow." Sakura rubbed her arms while watching Matt carefully.

"Geez, take gymnastics or something?" Sakura smiled at his amused expression. "This could be like fighting Tidus…"

"Tidus?" She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that the guy that liked Yuna?"

"Yeah…" Matt recalled the blitzer and felt a pang of regret. 'That's right. We promised Yuna we'd try to find a way to bring him back, but we never got the chance. We didn't try to figure it out either for that matter.'

"Something wrong?" Sakura's question snapped him out of his sad thoughts.

"Nah, just some memories." He looked at her arms and sighed. "Looks like you're done."

"Sadly." Sakura sat laid her Tonfas down on the bar and sat down. Her arm was already bruising. "Guess I'm not quite up to your level yet."

"Don't worry about it." Matt gave her a gentle pat on the back as he sat down next to her. "You just need more experience. Believe me, when I first got here, I could barely hold my own against a coyote. Actually, it took me, Matt, and Andy to kill two of them, and we barely managed that." Sakura stared at him. "What?"

"You were that bad? Wow… if you got this good while starting that bad, wonder how good I'll get…" She snickered at Matt's amused look. "Well it's the truth."

"Yeah, yeah." Hypello put two glasses down in front of them and poured them some water. "Thanks."

"Ish no problem." The Hypello said before going back to cleaning glasses. The two barely had time to start their drinks before the Celsius started to slow down. Despite having nearly spilled what was left of their drinks on themselves the two smiled and sprinted towards the bridge, only a few steps behind Ryan and Rikku.

"Hold the elevator!" Sakura yelled when it started to close. Immediately two feet shot through the door, stopping it when it was almost half way closed. "Thanks, Sakura-chan, Ryan-kun."

"No problem, Sakura." Rikku replied happily.

"Well you two seem to have gotten over your shyness." Matt said with a smirk. Rikku and Ryan held up their interlaced hands with mock embarrassment on their faces, which caused all four of them to burst into laughter.

"What kept you?" Paine asked as the group walked onto the bridge.

"You're as cheerful as ever." Matt replied without stopping.

"Want to get hurt." Paine asked menacingly.

Matt turned to face her slowly, his smile showing his amusement clearly. "If we weren't about to go do something like this, I just might say yes." Yuna and Rikku stepped back slightly. "What do you say we save it for when we're _not _about to do some work?"

"Good idea." Ryan agreed as Brother brought the Celsius down at the entrance to Mushroom Rock Road. "Wow… it's been a while since I've been here."

"Yeah. We passed through here right before Operation Mi'Ihen." Matt added. "Wonder if the fiends are any stronger." Ryan snorted.

"I doubt it."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Really, why's that?"

Despite the question being sarcastic Ryan replied with, "Because we've gotten stronger too. So, even if they did get stronger, what are the odds we'd even notice it?" Some of the group laughed at the comments, and some rolled their eyes but otherwise made no indication that they'd heard him.

"Oh, it's those creeps again!" Rikku whispered suddenly.

"Those creeps being…" Ryan prompted.

"Leblanc's goons!" Rikku replied. "Over there, I just saw them!"

"Maybe there's a sphere here." Paine ran off before anyone had time to reply to her comment.

"Lady Yuna! You haven't forgotten me, have you?" A young man asked as he walked over to the group.

"Yaibal, isn't it? You're in the Youth League." Yaibal's smile took over his face.

"Youth League?" Ryan asked Rikku while Yaibal and Yuan spoke. "I think Matt and me need to be filled in."

"After Yevon was thrown down, three group rose up in its place: The Youth League, The Machina Faction, and New Yevon. Each one has about an equal number of members, and all of them have interesting leaders. I dunno much about the Youth League's leader other then his name's Nooj, and he survived Operation Mi'Ihen. New Yevon has someone named Baralai, and rumor has it that he was gonna be the man to replace Maester Kelk Ronso before we took care of Sin."

"And The Machina Faction?" Matt asked when Rikku simply stopped.

"Oh, The Machina Faction is lead by an Al Bhed named Gippal. He's a bit of a player, but he's a good guy at heart. Although, he does have a tendency to get people around him in trouble with his hair brained ideas. But I've gotta admit, he's done a great job as the leader of The Machina Faction. Never saw him as the leader type, but stuff happens, right?"

"So you know this guy?" Ryan asked absently.

"Yeah, he was like the older brother I never had when I was growing up. Brother was always off with my dad, finding more Al Bhed and stuff, but they didn't let me come with much of the time. I pretty much grew up at HOME, but Gippal's the one who got me a job working on the salvage boats. After I was there I worked my way up to the top."

"Interesting history." Ryan admitted as Yaibal took a breath to continue speaking.

"Ohh, that enough! Those two guys are getting away!" Rikku shouted before Yaibal could continue. The sudden outburst surprised the Youth League member so much he stared at her for a few seconds.

In that time Paine stepped towards him and asked, "Did Leblanc's men pass through here?"

"Yes. They said they were here to take care of our fiend problem. You see, the Youth League is in preparation for an important mission, leaving our patrols shorthanded. As a result, the road to headquarters has been overrun with fiends. Be warned: unless you can defeat the fiends on the road, you will not be able to pass. So, are you ready to run the gauntlet?"

Yuna nodded. "Sure, we're game."

Yaibal nodded. "Understood! Expect to encounter fiends until you reach the vicinity of the lift. Fight your way through them and proceed to headquarters. That's it. Good luck." He stopped and looked around. "Clasko? Clasko!" The nervous man stepped around a corner. "Show them the way!"

O-Of course. This way, please." Clasko motioned towards the path he'd been on.

"Yeah, let's hunt some fiends!" Rikku said excitedly. Clasko started down the path to the headquarters.

"You seem down." Yuna pointed out once they were away from the other Youth League Members.

"Well, a lot has happened since you brought us the calm." Clasko admitted. "I ended up following Captain Lucil. When she joined the Youth League, so did I. But I'm still stuck playing tour guide. You know, all I wanted to do is ride a Chocobo… faster than the wind!"

"I hate to break up this conversation, but there the slime balls are." Matt pointed towards a fat man and a tall skinny man rounding a corner. "I mean, I've never seen any other fat people in Spira, so it's gotta be Ormi, right?"

"And we aren't the only ones following them either." Sakura pointed to a figure up above them, but just as the others looked up it disappeared, but in the process of spinning away hurled something at Ryan. The angel leaned back slightly and the weapon passed by him harmlessly.

"What the hell! Now we've got crazy people hurling… pendulums, at us?" Nick pulled the weapon out of the ground and examined it. Matt and Ryan stared at the pendulum, remembering it rather well.

"It looks so familiar, but I can't remember why…" Rikku admitted as she examined the weapon. Paine looked at it, blinked once and then went back to looking for fiends.

"I know what you mean, Rikku. It's so familiar… I _know _I've seen it somewhere before, but _where_?"

'How about Macalania Travel Agency, or after he joined our group?' Matt thought but said nothing. Ryan took the weapon, pocketed it and smiled. 'Guess you remember too.'

"Well, if this 'mystery man' is tracking them, then we'll meet eventually. As for now, I suggest that we get moving before we loose them for good." He started walking without waiting for anyone else's opinion.

"Hey, you know something! What do you know?" Rikku was already next to him, but he shook his head.

"Turn not to others for knowledge, or something like that. Besides, it'd ruin the surprise if I told you." Matt snickered and Rikku whirled around.

"You know too!" She whined and Matt started to laugh openly.

"Yep, but like Ryan said, it'd ruin the surprise if we told you." The two kept walking, laughing openly as the rest of the group, slightly confused and annoyed, ran to catch up.

888

"This one ain't no good." Ormi growled.

"Nor this one." Logos added with a sigh.

"What do you think they're doing?" Yuna asked in a hushed voice.

"Well, I never knew about this place, so I dunno. Only one way to find out for sure." Matt pointed out as he shouldered Lightning Edge. Yuna put a hand on him as he stood up and he raised an eyebrow.

"If you or Ryan go out there, they're going to split right away for sure. I'll go out first. If they try to run, stop them." Ryan and Matt sighed, but sat down without any resistance. She took a deep breath, checked her guns and nodded before standing up and asking, "What are you doing?"

Ormi and Logos dropped a bunch of the spheres when Yuna popped up. As they scrambled to pick the sphere up Ormi yelled, "Let's get outta here!"

"That's your cue, speed man." Nick shoved Ryan in the back… and nearly into the tip of a pendulum. "Holy shit! Where'd that come from?" Ryan and Matt slowly followed the nearly invisible wire of water up the cliff.

"I'd say…" Matt squinted against then sun and then pointed, "from right about there."

"Who the hell is that!" Sakura asked as two more pendulums whizzed past Ryan and Matt and buried themselves into the ground. "Get out of there! You'll get killed!"

"Don't worry about. He may seem like he wants to kill us, but… well, ok, maybe he does." Ryan admitted with an amused chuckle. "He did promise that, didn't he? Until he decided to help us kill Sin." Now Matt was chuckling.

"Yeah, and what a way to leave the business. Killing Yu Yevon…" Matt shook his head. "that must've been his greatest assassination."

"What, assassination?" a look of realization came over Yuna and Rikku. "You don't mean _him_, do you?" Ryan tossed the pendulum back to his girlfriend who just shook her head. "It's definitely him. Nobody else could actually use these so efficiently."

"Well at least you didn't forget me completely." The shadow stated as it stepped off the top of the cliff and stood there, standing in mid-air. "Hey, Ryan. You've got something on your head."

"I know." Ryan replied with a slight smile as the thing, suddenly sensing danger, jumped off his head and ran up onto Rikku's shoulder and hissed at a still descending Seph.

"Well that's a new trick." Matt commented absently as everyone but he, Paine, and Ryan stared in amazement at Seph's feat. "You've gotten better, Seph."

"What about you two? How good have you gotten in these two years?" 36 pendulums, water already attached, dropped out of his sleeves. "Why don't we have a look?"

The pendulums launched at them, 36 little diamonds of death that whirled around them like vultures around their next meal. "Well, what'd'ya say we show them?" Ryan shrugged and Matt smiled. "Alright then, I'll go first." A faint blue glow started to form around Matt. Slowly, as the glow became brighter, sparks of electricity started to appear around him, brief and fleeting but beautiful to the eye. Nick, Sakura, Yuna, and Rikku watched in absolute shock as Ryan and Matt stood in the middle of the ring of death, not moving even as the pendulums nicked them, cutting them to bits peace by peace. They couldn't see Seph's knowing smile, nor Ryan or Matt's amused ones.

"Well, it seems like this fight's about to end." Ryan commented as the blue light around Matt disappeared.

"Really now? Why's--" Seph's question died in his throat as a bolt of lightning for each of his pendulums jumped out of Matt's body. He barely managed to dispel the water he was standing on before the 36 bolts of lightning flew through the space he'd occupied a second earlier.

"Wind Cutter!" Seph's eyes widened as the white blade came flying towards him.

'Shit, they're going all out.' He thought as twisted in mid-air, barely avoiding the deadly attack that shattered the wall behind him. When his spin allowed him to see just how much power had been in the attack he shuddered. 'That could've been _me_.'

888

Paine shivered as she watched Seph weave in and out of the attacks that Matt and Ryan threw at him. She'd known the assassin for years now. 'But to see him relying on that power of his so much… I suppose I underestimated these two.' She shivered again as the rock wall shattered under another blow that Seph barely spun out of the way of.

"Scary, aren't they?" Rikku asked her friend casually. Paine just glared at her friend, which caused Rikku to giggle. "Hey, it wouldn't be a bad thing if you were afraid of them. In fact, it'd probably be smart. After all, none of them are really trying to kill each other." Paine felt a jolt of fear run down her spine.

'That's the part I didn't need to know.' She thought glumly as the battle continued.

888

"Mine!" Lightning Edge engulfed Seph's field of vision and he smiled as a wall of water stopped the blade, repelled it, and then turned into a missile and sent Matt flying back ten feet. "Or not."

"You didn't think it'd be _that _easy, did you?" Seph asked with an amused smile.

"Well, if you keep letting your guard down it might be…" Ryan's amused voice came from behind the former assassin.

"Same goes to you." Seph said quietly. A shadow appeared over the two and Ryan glanced up casually. Seph took that instant to spin around and kick him in the stomach, roll forward, and come up facing Matt. The two gods stared at each other for several seconds before they started laughing.

"They're completely… insane." Rikku muttered as she watched Ryan join in the laughter.

"They're men." Paine said as if it was explanation enough.

"Yeah. But they aren't normally _this _crazy." Nick stated as Ryan stood up and moved past the man who'd caused the shadow. 'Well, not _man_.' Nick thought as he looked at the new face. 'Boy would be better.'

"Paine, it's been awhile." Seph smiled when Paine glared at him. "I see you're still as serious as ever." He chuckled as Paine's hand drifted to her sword. "You sure you wanna do that? Especially given that you're not with _them _this time?" Paine's scowl deepened but she resumed her normal stance. "Ah, a wise decision."

"So, taking on stragglers now, Seph?" Matt asked while looking over the only person in the group he didn't know. He wore a black jacket, and black pants, and had black hair that was tied back in a ponytail, but the most intriguing aspects of him were his eyes. They were clearly Al Bhed, having a green spiral in them and all, but the rest were blood red. 'Well, guess he's a goth.'

"Oh, JT? Nah, he helped me out a few years ago. Before you guys came to Spira, and all that messy junk. Actually, he was one of the few people that actually knew what I did for a living… and lived, anyway."

"Ah, that's pretty impressive. Unless you let him live, that is." JT cast Ryan a glare and the angel simply smiled back. "Anyway, where's Rae?"

Seph's cheery air disappeared as soon as Ryan asked the question. "That's what I was here to find out."

"What happened to her?" Matt asked when Seph didn't say anything for a while.

"My sister," JT said just loud enough for them to hear, "disappeared when she went to talk to Leblanc's gang. That's why Seph and I were tailing those two nimrods, until you blew it!" This last part was directed directly at Yuna.

"I'm… sorry. I didn't know." Yuna replied quietly.

"JT, shut up." Seph ordered casually. The teen just stared at him, openly confused and feeling more then slightly betrayed. "I'm the one who stopped Ryan from trapping Ormi and Logos here, aren't I? Or did I not hurl a pendulum at him like I tried to…?"

JT swallowed and, through gritted teeth, muttered, "Yeah, you did."

"And you're angry at me for it. No big deal. But keep one thing in mind, kid." JT glared at him. "You're just along for the ride. _I'm _the one that's doing the real work. Besides, if you try anything stupid you'll wind up dead in some remote location that nobody where nobody will ever find you." Seph flashed his friends a smile that clearly showed he was joking, but the empty threat had hit home.

'I suppose,' Matt thought as JT shivered almost imperceptibly, 'that JT knows what Seph used to do. Oh well, it's got nothing to do with me.'

"So where are you headed now?" Seph asked as he gathered his pendulums up. Before Yuna could reply his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed.

"Hey. Long time no see. Remember me?" A man asked as he walked towards the group.

"Of course I do!" Yuna replied cheerfully.

"Hey, aren't you… Maroda, I think it was…" Matt trailed off.

"I suppose you remember me too. Glad to hear it." Maroda nodded towards Matt. "It's been, what, two years since you helped to kill Sin?"

"Yep. How've you been?" Ryan replied casually.

Maroda shrugged. "I joined up with the Youth League and that's been keeping me pretty busy. And you do know that you've got something on your head, right?" Ryan nodded with mock sadness.

"Oh, I'm a Sphere Hunter now!" Yuna informed her old friend.

"Ah, that sounds great, trying out a new way of life. Actually, Pacce's a Sphere Hunter now, too. He's the leader of the Kinderguardians. Be nice to him if you see him."

"Wow, Pacce's a Sphere Hunter too? Didn't see that one coming." Ryan admitted quietly.

"How's Issaru?" Yuna asked.

"The Youth League discovered this place you know." Maroda replied, casually ignoring the question. It's called the Den of Woe. It was sealed around the time of Operation Mi'Ihen."

"And Issaru?" Yuna pressed.

"But, uh, no one is sure how to open it. We've been investigating it, put I'm afraid this place is off-limits until we're finished our investigation." Maroda finished with a hand against the spade-like design carved into the wall and his back to the group. "So I'll, um, have to ask you to leave. I'm sorry."

Seph looked like he was going to say something but a slight shake of Ryan's head stopped him. "What was that all about?" Seph demanded when Maroda was out of earshot.

"Maroda wasn't in the mood to talk." Matt answered. "You'd have been wasting your breath."

"I see." Seph replied dryly as they came to a fork in the road. "Well, we go this way, and since you're heading for Youth League HQ, you're going that way, so I suppose this is where we part ways until we meet again."

"Hey, if we ever bust into Leblanc's place we'll give you a call." Matt said, already walking towards the Youth League Headquarters. Seph waved without turning back as he and JT followed their own path.

"Now how do you suppose he knew we were headed to Youth League Headquarters?" Sakura wondered aloud as they walked down the road.

"He's Seph. Odds are, we probably don't want to know." Sakura just stared at Matt's back until something came into view to his side. Sakura stepped to the right a little and inhaled sharply at what she saw.

"An elevator? Here!" She couldn't believe her eyes. 'But we're in the middle of god only knows where, and there aren't any buildings nearby, are there?'

"Well, I suppose that's the welcoming party." Rikku commented while petting Ryan's new pet absently. "And here they come."

"Oh, wow! Lady Yuna! Lady Yuna, it's me, Elma!" The woman in the front of the group said happily. "It's been so long! Wow, you've really changed."

"How are you?" Yuna asked politely.

Elma smiled. "Never better. Now that I'm in the Youth League, I've always got something to do. Hey, you made it past all the fiends. Nice work!" Elma glanced over her shoulder towards the other Youth League members who were standing between Yuna's group and the elevator. "Go on, step aside."

"Right away, captain!" One of the men said with a crisp salute. Instantly the mob parted, leaving nothing standing between them and the headquarters.

"Wow, look at Elma. A _captain_? Seems like you've been doing pretty well for yourself." The captain blushed a little at Matt's praise.

"Not bad, huh?" The group laughed at her sudden change of attitude.

"We're leaving now, aren't we?" Nick asked Matt in a hushed whisper. The thunder god, barely controlling his laughter, simply nodded, which caused Nick to sigh heavily. "Always around the woman. Damn."

It didn't take the group long to cross most of the headquarters. When they neared the largest tent, one they assumed from it's sheer size was either the leader's or some kind of meeting hall, they found themselves meeting up with another old friend.

"It's been too long, Lady Yuna." The familiar woman said. "I am Lucil, commander of the Youth League forces."

"And we thought Elma was doing well for herself." Matt muttered under his breath, but with just enough strength in his voice for Lucil to hear. The commander smiled slightly at the comment. "So, Lucil, how've you been?"

"It's good to see you," Yuna added.

"Hiya!" Rikku greeted happily.

"Long time no see." Ryan tacked on the comment and Lucil's smile grew in size. 'Guess she's always getting "yes ma'am" or "Morning ma'am". Must be nice to meet up with someone who doesn't call you ma'am all the time.'

"I'm glad to find you all well." Lucil admitted. "As you can see, I have joined the Youth League to aid in the fight for a new Spira. I consider it my duty. Meyvn Nooj,' Matt noticed Paine eyes flash with annoyance at the name and he made a mental note of it, "our leader, has been hoping for my audience with my Lady for some time. Unfortunately, he is a mission of great importance, and will be occupied well into the night. I am terribly sorry, but I must ask that you return another day."

"Eh, no problem." Nick replied before anyone could say anything. "It's always nice to get out and see the scenery once and a while. After all, Spira's just so beautiful." Ryan, Matt, and Sakura rolled their eyes, having spent enough time with Nick to know what he was doing.

"I'm glad, but still. My apologizes." Lucil bowed her head so she missed the swift fists slamming into Nick's arms. He winced in pain but didn't cry out, electing instead to rub his arms in silent pain. Matt and Ryan shared satisfied glance just before Lucil's head came back up.

"The Youth League's looking for sphere too, right?" Rikku asked suddenly.

"Yes." Lucil admitted. "_Knowledge of the past is the key to the future. _So says the Meyvn. It is with these words in mind that we seek the sphere of yore. The mission we are planning revolves around a sphere, but…" she hesitated before continuing, "I am sorry. I had best say no more. It is not a matter to be discussed openly."

"No, I suppose not." Paine replied in her normal, indifferent voice. Ryan and Matt shared a glance.

'Ok, she definitely knows a _lot _more then she's letting onto.' Matt thought. 'I wonder just how much Yuna and Rikku really know about her…'

"Again, my apologies." Lucil bowed her head once again.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Ryan lets us down all the time, so we're used to it." Ryan's punch was so fast that Nick didn't realize he'd been hit for several seconds, and even then it was only because of the numbness spreading through his arm. "Um, ow?" He asked when they were out of the camp.

"You sound like you aren't sure." Paine noted immediately.

"Yeah, well. It skipped the pain and went right to the numbness, so I'm not." Ryan smiled slightly as his small friend jumped off Rikku's shoulder and back onto his head. "Of course, even if I had feeling in my arm, I couldn't hit back."

"Why not?" Paine taunted. "Scared?"

"Not scared, just not stupid. You haven't seen Ryan move yet. And before you say 'he fought Lusniec' let me remind you that all he did in that particular fight was swing his sword around like a mad man. He didn't fight the way he normally does." Paine rolled her eyes and Rikku glanced at Ryan out of the corner of her eyes. She expected to see a pained look, or an angry look on his face. Instead she found him smiling at her.

"Hey, I told you I wasn't going to go looking for a fight, didn't I?" She smiled.

"I suppose not." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Give it up Ryan, you know you want to fight Lusniec again." The lightning god teased.

"I'd rather not have to worry about him ever showing his face again to be honest…" Ryan replied with a smile. "But I'm not dumb enough to think he's going to just roll over and die. Especially now that he thinks I've got nothing to use against him."

"You don't." Matt pointed out.

"Exactly." The entire group stopped and looked at him. "Too many mind."

Matt smiled slightly. "No mind." Ryan nodded.

"Now you're getting it." Matt was shaking his head when the group rounded the corner, and because of that he nearly slammed head first into Clasko. Only the man's startled cry and warned Matt that someone was there, and he'd barely managed to roll to the left and avoid the painful encounter.

"That's it." Clasko muttered in a dejected voice. "Every time I try something new, I screw it up. I just don't know what I want to do with my life. I don't know where I belong. I've spent my whole life drifting from one failure to the next. But, I can't keep doing this forever. I know there's a place for everyone in this world- even someone as sad and pathetic as me." He looked Yuna in the eye defiantly, "Lady Yuna! I want to find my place! Please, allow me to ride on your airship!"

Yuna looked at him for a second, feeling fully the weight of the gazes of everyone in the group. "The more the merrier." She said happily.

Clasko stared at her in disbelief for a second before shouting, "Thank you so much! I'll find my true calling, you'll see!"

"I think it's going to get a little crowded when we go to bed…" Matt muttered to Ryan as the group headed back towards the Celsius.

888

"Lusniec, did I ever explain my plan to you?" Yevon asked as the two walked through the Farplane. Angel shook his head and Yevon smiled. "It's a wonderful thing, playing with the souls of the dead. They're so easy to use against the living."

"I think I'm starting to like this plan of yours already." Lusniec admitted as a portal appeared in front of them. "It's always nice to manipulate the emotions of others."

"Indeed it is." Yevon agreed as they stepped through the portal. The world around them went dark for a second, and then they were standing in a part of the Farplane Lusniec had never been to.

The angel turned his head slowly, taking in the sudden change of scenery. Unlike the rest of the Farplane, which was covered in flowers and a bright sky, this section of the Farplane had neither of those. Ominous, dark clouds that looked close to thunder storm clouds blotted out the sky. And a cold, metal-like substance that covered every inch of the area had replaced the beautiful flowers, that Lusniec didn't exactly find beautiful.

"The heart of the Farplane." Yevon stated. "A place that even the residents of the Farplane don't know about. Even the other gods don't know about this place." Lusniec stared at him. "How's that possible, right? Oh, it's quiet possible."

"Tell me, Yevon. If the gods don't know about this 'Heart of the Farplane' then how," Lusniec motioned off in the distance, "does he?" Yevon squinted towards the approaching figure for a few seconds and then smiled evilly.

"That is the third member of our band." He said as a blonde haired man stopped in front of them. "Shuyin, this is Lusniec. He'll be helping us." Shuyin sneered at the angel but said nothing. "Lusniec, this is Shuyin. He's helping us, so whatever you do, don't pick a fight with him. Same goes for you, Shuyin."

"Whatever." Lusniec muttered as he brushed past the newest member of the group.

"Shuyin, how close are we?" Yevon demanded.

"It shouldn't be too much longer. A few weeks, maybe." Shuyin shrugged. "I said it before, I'm not an Al Bhed mechanic, I can't guarantee that Vegnagun will work at all."

"Vegnagun?" Lusniec repeated the name, knowing he'd heard it before. "Wait, you mean that _monster_? It's _here_?" Yevon and Shuyin smiled and Lusniec felt fear race down his spine. 'What the hell have I gotten mixed up in that would require _that_?'

888

"After we defeated Sin, people began to distance themselves from the temples." Yuna explained as the group walked towards what had formerly been Djose Temple. "For a long time, Djose Temple was neglected as well. But now…"

"I'd say _someone _found a use for it." Matt commented when people stopped to stare at them. 'Mostly Al Bhed.' He noted absently as they walked into the temple itself, only to be greeted in the same manner.

"Everyone's staring." Yuna whispered to her friends as she shifted her weight uneasily.

"You're famous, Yunie." Rikku elbowed her cousin in the ribs playfully. "Better get used to it."

Yuna sighed. "All I wanted was some peace and quiet." She said absently.

"Then why are you hanging out with Rikku?" Matt asked jokingly. Rikku elbowed him in the ribs too, significantly harder then she had Yuna, but ended up rubbing her hurt elbow instead of hurting Matt.

"Poor thing." The perky Al Bhed said to Paine. "She's led such a sheltered life."

"Maybe she's getting old." Paine offered.

"Who's getting old?" Yuna demanded as she spun on her heel to face her friends just in time to see a blonde haired Al Bhed walk in.

"That's Gippal, leader of the Machina faction." Rikku stated quietly. "He can be kind of annoying, but he's alright."

Gippal sat down behind a desk put his feet up on it and yelled, "Okay, let's do some interviews. Bring it!"

Yuna giggled. "Yeah, he seems alright." She agreed.

"Man, this could take a while." Ryan muttered as he glanced at the line in front of them. "There's gotta be at least fifty people." Everyone sighed.

"That's the kind of shit that you keep to yourself." Matt stated as they prepared for their long wait.

Half way through the interviews a loud sigh echoed through out the temple followed by Gippal saying, "E ryja ymnayto ehdanjeafat people. Uha uv oui kioc dyga ujan (I have already interviewed people. One of you guys take over)."

The two assistants stared at him as he stood up. "Gippal!" They both showed out of sheer annoyance as the Al Bhed walked towards the temple door. He didn't make it, since the sight of Yuna waiting in line made him stop.

"Huh?" was all he managed to come up with to express his confusion.

"Hello." Yuna replied in her cheery tone.

Gippal was still staring at her like someone'd just hit him over the head with a baseball bat, but he managed to ask, "You, uh, here for an interview?"

"Uh-huh." Yuna admitted.

Gippal finally composed himself and smiled. "The great High Summoner wants an interview?"

"Former Summoner." Yuna corrected quickly.

"Hm." Gippal looked the group over for a few seconds then nodded. "All right, follow me." He led them outside and onto a bridge before stopping and turning to face them. "Never been this close to a celebrity before." He said while taking a step towards Yuna.

Yuna stepped back nervously. "That's nice."

"I could get use to this." Gippal muttered, seemingly more to himself then anyone in particular.

"Let's not." Yuna countered as Gippal continued to look the group over.

When he saw Rikku smiling at him impishly he stopped and shook his head with amusement. "Well if it isn't Cid's girl. How you been?"

Rikku's smile dissolved at the 'Cid's girl' comment, and her tone held a slightly annoyed sound when she replied with, "Hey, I have a name!"

"Heh." Gippal let out a small chuckle that brought Rikku's smile back. Matt noted Ryan shifting his weight slightly, something he always did when he was hiding one emotion or another. "Brother doin' okay?"

Rikku shrugged. "Same as ever. Buddy's around, too."

"Same as ever is right." Gippal said sarcastically as he eyed up Ryan and Matt. "And you two must be Sir Ryan and Sir Matt?" The two shivered. "Was I really that off?"

"No, you were right." Matt admitted. "Titles are just too formal for us. We prefer just 'Ryan and Matt' if you don't mind." Gippal smiled.

"Don't like too much formality, I like that in people." Gippal admitted. He looked like he was going to say something else but then he met Paine's gaze for the first time and he looked, once again, like he'd just been hit with a baseball bat. "You!"

"Paine." The woman replied calmly. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh-huh?" Gippal seemed like he was trying to remember a dream he'd never had for a second.

"We're here for the interview." Paine said calmly.

"Right… the interview." Gippal said slowly. He pulled out a peace of paper and asked the group a few questions before asking, "You sure you wanna dig? 'Cause we're talking about the desert here, people. Not exactly a picnic."

"We're sure." Yuna said forcefully.

"All right, you're hired. Welcome." Everyone but Paine stared at him like he was crazy.

"Huh?" Yuna voiced the group's question.

"You. Are. Hire." Gippal stopped and looked back at them. "Dunno why a superstar like you would want to play in the sand. Well, do what you gotta do. Anyways, I've done what I can. Dig to your heart's content."

"Um, thanks?" Yuna asked, and Gippal in turned snapped his fingers.

"Almost forgot. This is a letter of introduction. Give it to a woman named Nhadala. You'll find her in Bikanel Desert." Gippal said happily as he handed Yuna the letter. "Happy digging."

"Oh, this should be fun." Ryan said sarcastically as the group boarded the Celsius and streaked through the skies towards Bikanel Desert.

888

"Why are we using something as powerful as Vegnagun?" Lusniec asked Yevon when Shuyin left. "And for that matter, if we don't want anyone to find it, then why aren't we leaving it in a place even the other gods don't know about? And why are you taking it into the middle of Bevelle, with only _Shuyin _to watch over it?"

"You worry a great deal about this mission, for someone who only wants to kill Ryan." Yevon noted absently. "Relax. You want to fight Ryan again, right?"

"Of course. If it weren't for Usi's _successor_ I would have rid Spira of him last time." Lusniec spat.

"Yes, well. The more risks we take about revealing Vegnagun, the more likely Ryan and Matt and their friends are to find it. They fought Sin, and myself, to save Spira two years ago. Do you think they'll let all that go to waste by letting someone control Vegnagun?" Lusniec considered the words carefully before shaking his head. "Of course not. They will come for Vegnagun when they discover it, and that is when you will kill your annoying successor, understood?"

"You don't have to tell me twice." Lusniec admitted. "But what about you? You lost to Matt. You must be anxious for a rematch."

"I didn't loose to Matt." Yevon countered crossly. "Matt is intelligent. By now he must know that it was Andy that I possessed. Because of that fact he will hold back when we meet again. I will _crush _him when that happens, when he makes that fatal error."

"And what if he isn't the one to fight you?" Lusniec countered. "They've already met up with Seph once, and he has not been known for being a bleeding heart like the others. If he is with them, he _will _fight to kill you. You know that, right?"

"Seph, yes. The infernal god of water." Yevon smiled evilly. "I've taken… precautions to ensure that he will be too busy to help us."

"You refer to his girlfriend? What _did _you do to her, anyway?" Lusniec asked offhandedly.

"That is my secret. You'll know when the time is right." Yevon replied with a tone as evil as his grin.

"If you say so, Yevon. If you say so." Lusniec replied casually as he watched the shimmering Machina in front of him. 'Vegnagun, the unstoppable machina. The machina that could have destroyed Sin, and all of Spira, with a single attack. Why didn't Yevon use _this _instead of _Sin _if he knew where it was?' Yevon wasn't telling him something, he knew that the second that he'd joined up with him. Before it had been that he'd known where Vegnagun lies. But the more that he thought about it, the less sense it made to use Sin over Vegnagun. The thought unnerved the angel as he looked up at the massive, imposing machina that was, according to legend, more then a match for the gods

themselves.

'Oh well.' He decided. 'So long as I kill Ryan, Spira can be damned to deal with Yevon's control for all I care.' Even as he thought it he felt the corruption inside him spreading. His hatred for everything he'd once fought to protect grew with each passing day, for a reason he couldn't understand. And, for reasons he didn't understand either, he didn't find it odd at all.

888

Matt watched as the little fiend that rode around on Ryan's head, now named Baby by Rikku, jumped off Ryan's head and ran back up the ramp and onto the airship. "Well at least someone in our group has enough sense to _not _go walking into the middle of a desert." Matt commented dryly. "Why are we digging for Gippal again?"

"Why not?" Nick asked sarcastically. "Not like we couldn't be spending time in a civilized place." He tacked on under his breath.

"Yeah, yeah. We get the point Nick. You don't like deserts." Matt replied. "Feel free to stay on the airship."

Nick stopped and considered the idea for a moment. "That was sarcasm, Nick." Ryan stated as the group set out after Rikku, who was slowly making her way away from the airship in what seemed like a arbitrary direction. Nick sighed and followed the group. And followed. And followed. And followed some more.

"Rikku, where the hell are we going? I dunno how much longer I can take this heat." The little Al Bhed just stood there and Nick let out an exhausted sigh. "Rikku! Are you listening to me?" Still no answer.

"Rikku?" Ryan's voice sounded exhausted but held a hint of worry as he walked over to her. "Rikku? Hey, come on. Not exactly the time for jokes…" a strong breeze knocked Rikku into him and his eyes widened with fear. "Rikku? Hey, Rikku!"

"Yuna-chan!" Sakura cried, diving forward to catch the falling Sphere Hunter. She was almost there when Paine toppled backwards, knocking all three of them to the ground. A thump signaled Matt hitting the ground next to them, followed by two more thumps from Ryan and Rikku.

"Guys, come on." Nick gasped while wiping sweat off his face. Damn it was hot. 'Is it _legal _for _anything _to be this hot?' he wondered as he started towards clump of woman lying next to Matt. He didn't make it before darkness overtook him.

888

Matt felt something cold drop onto his face. He pushed it away, convincing himself he was dreaming. Who would have cold water in the desert after all?

Then another cold drop hit him, this time landing on his cracked lips. As it slid down his face someone lifted his head slightly. He tried to ask who it was but his cracked lips didn't function right and all he heard was an impossible to understand jumble of words. Someone, a woman he thought vaguely, laughed and held something up to his lips.

"Drink it." She ordered gently. Exhausted, and without the ability to think clearly, Matt barely registered that he was drinking. After a few sips he started to choke and whatever was holding the water promptly moved away. "Relax." The woman said gently. And it was in Japanese.

The realization barely registered through the haze that Matt was thinking through. 'Japanese?' the fact that the voice was not only familiar, but female registered and forced his eyes open to see Sakura wearing a relieved smile. "Hey."

"Relax. We're at the Al Bhed camp." Matt blinked as his sense slowly came back.

"We're still in the desert." He whispered jokingly. Sakura smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. We're still in the desert." She confirmed. "What gave it away? The intense heat, or the rough sand that you're laying in?"

"Both." He muttered as he sat up slowly. A little ways off he heard the sound of machines and what sounded like fans. "What happened to us?"

"Heat exhaustion." Nick said from behind him. "Last time I ever let Rikku lead." There was a short pause and then a loud "Crack" before Nick let out a surprised, "Hey!" Sakura snickered and Matt turned around to find Rikku towering over his friend, who was now nursing a red cheek.

"I told you already, they moved the camp to escape a sandstorm!" Rikku stated angrily as an Al Bhed came walking over.

"Drana'c y pek cyhtcduns lusehk. Pekkacd fa'ja caah eh dra bycd oayn (There's a big sandstorm coming. Biggest we've seen in the past year)." As soon as he was finished he continued on towards the next group of people.

"Well that can't be good." Matt said with a sigh.

"What? What'd he say?" Nick demanded.

"Biggest sandstorm of the year is coming. Think the Celsius could handle it?" Matt asked while turning to Rikku.

"Probably not. Sandstorms in Bikanel desert are frequent, and they're the worst in Spira. If this is the worst one this year, I wouldn't risk it even if I thought the airship _could _handle it." She declared finally.

"Guess we won't be leaving the way we came in." Paine muttered in her usual, impartial tone.

"Well, we might as well make the most of our time here then." Matt said as he stood up and brushed the sand off his pants as best as he could. "We came here to dig, so lets do some digging."

888

"Y cduns? E ryda cdunsc (A storm? I hate storms)." Nhadala muttered as she walked back into the camp. As soon as she reached the shade she noticed Yuna leading her friends towards her. "I'm busy, so make it fast, ok? I've got lots to excavate and no one to do it."

"Yunie, show her Gippal's letter!" Rikku prompted.

"I've got this letter…" Yuna started as she held the letter out for Nhadala.

The Al Bhed forewoman read over the letter and smiled. "So you're the new guys!" She said happily.

"That's us!" Rikku confirmed as Nhadala looked the group over.

"Hmm. I guess the High Summoner's hard up, too." She shrugged. "And even the legendary guardians, Sir Ryan and Sir Matt. Well, don't be expecting any special treatment."

"Right." Yuna said as Ryan and Matt shared a look that was half confused half annoyed. As Nhadala pulled out a map Matt and Ryan stepped out of the group.

"Ok, now I'm really confused. How the hell do people we've never met before know who we are when Yuna, and Wakka, and Kimahri and even _Rikku _don't?" Matt demanded in a hushed whisper.

"I'm not exactly sure…" Ryan admitted.

"Well you weren't supposed to be back for another year, right?" Sakura asked, suddenly appearing behind them and startling them. "Relax, it's only me. I don't bite… most of the time."

"I'll alert the media Ryan commented absently. "Anyway, it was the Fayth that said we wouldn't be back for three years. When were they ever wrong before that, right? Guess we can't really blame them."

"Hey, hurry up! We're going to the western expanses!" Rikku shouted from a hovercraft looking thing. "Move it!"

As the three started towards the hovercraft something solid, and metal slammed into the back of Matt's head, knocking him to the ground instantly. "Watch where you're standing, punk." The machina said before floating over to the hovercraft's driver and staying in the air next to him.

"This is your partner. Got a bit of a mouth on him, so try to be patient." The driver said as they climbed into the hovercraft. "His name's Picket."

The little machina floated over to Yuna and said, "Hey sweetcakes." Yuna smiled nervously and nudged Rikku back slightly so that Yuna could put a little distance between her and the machina.

"Okay, well if everyone's ready, let's go." The pilot hopped into the now full hovercraft and gunned whatever powered it. "Just a word of warning! You won't be able to stay out in the heat for long, so make sure you don't wander too far away from the hovercraft. Picket can find you, given enough time, but by the time he does it's very possible that you'll already be dead. Understand?" The group nodded grimly. "Good."

888

"That was the worst half hour of my life." Sakura muttered as they reached the camp again. "I hate heat. It always makes everything worse."

Rikku laughed slightly before whispering to Sakura, "I used to live in this desert. But we had to blow our home up. Now the Al Bhed aren't considered evil anymore, not by most anyway, and we live all over the place. But one day, we're gonna rebuild HOME, and everyone'll be welcome, all the Al Bhed's friends, all the Al Bhed, everyone."

"That sounds like a grand old time, unless you don't have air-conditioning." Nick said in an exhausted voice as he climbed out of the hovercraft. "Just hurry up and give Nhadala what we got so we can get _out _of here."

"Just what we needed!" Nhadala exclaimed when Rikku handed the piece to her. "You're good."

"Did you really expect anything less?" Nick asked.

"Don't let it get to your head." The woman snapped. "But you did do a good job. Here. Your reward." Nhadala handed Nick, intentionally passing through the rest of the group without making any move to give it to anyone else, a box. "Come back any time you like. We'll be here."

"Right. Thanks!" Nick called as he led the group out of the camp and into the airship, which had just arrived. "Thank god! Cool air!"

"Which god would you be thanking now?" Matt asked sarcastically.

"Really, we've got the god of fire, water, ice, thunder, non-elemental, and death. And a guardian angel who uses holy, but if you say him I'm gonna kick your ass." Ryan warned.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Figure of speech guys." Nick replied testily. "And what happened to you two," he motioned to Matt and Paine, "fighting?"

"Hey, that's right." Matt said as he turned to face Paine. "We were supposed to have a match after we got back from Mushroom Rock Road." A smile tugged at his lips and he bowed sarcastically. "Shall we, my lady?"

"You really _do _want to get hurt, don't you?"

"Strong words for someone who's hesitating." Matt pointed out as an icy calm feel over him.

"Hesitating?" Paine repeated venomously. "You think I'm scared of _you_?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't presume to _know _anything other then what I see. And all I see is a woman that's stalling. That leads me to believe, despite whether or not it's the truth, that you're afraid of me. And after what you've seen me _warming up_," Matt emphasized the words, "it makes sense that you'd want to see the full extent of my powers before fighting."

Paine glared at the god who simply returned her glare with an icy smile. With an annoyed cry Paine covered the short distance between the two in two steps and slammed her blade down. Matt smirked and brought his left arm over his head. The blade slammed into his arm and stopped, much to the surprise of everyone but Ryan.

"Matt, I knew you had a lot of muscle, but that's just _disgusting_!" Sakura complained as she turned away.

"Well, I do have a lot of muscle. But… this isn't muscle." He reached up with his right arm and tore his sleeve back to reveal a now cracked, jet-black gauntlet. "You cracked my gauntlet… impressive. You're not bad. Not good either, but not bad." Paine pulled her sword off Matt's gauntlet.

"Get lost." She yelled as she whipped around, her sword barely missing a bored looking Ryan's face, and used the momentum of the move to slam her sword into Matt again. This time he caught it between both gauntlets, and his smile vanished.

"You cracked my gauntlet." He told her. "So now, I break your sword." Before anyone could say anything his arms jerked and the tip of her sword fell to the ground. With a single push Paine went flying through the air and into the railing behind her with a grunt.

"Matt." The thunder god turned to face Ryan who was giving him an annoyed look. "You over did it. Again. Like always."

"She cracked my gauntlet!" Matt countered. "And besides, she's fine. And we can always pick her up another sword."

888

"Seph, those people that were at Mushroom Rock Road yesterday. How could they…" JT's question died off.

"How could they be as powerful as me, right?" JT nodded and Seph laughed. "Well, you know how Rae told you I was a god?"

"Yeah. She does tend to exaggerate a bit, although you _are _really strong." JT commented as the two walked into the area of Djose temple.

"Well, she wasn't. For once." JT stared at Seph like the former assassin was insane. "Hey, sounds weird, I know. But it's true."

"Yeah right." JT muttered as two security guards walked in front of them.

"Cunno, pid Gippal ec eh y jano esbundyhd saadehk. Oui lyh'd ku eh nekrd huf (Sorry, but Gippal is in a very important meeting. You can't go in right now)." To emphasize his point the guard raised his rifle up.

"Cunno." Seph said without stopping.

"Oui lyh'd ku eh nekrd huf (You can't go in right now)!" The guard yelled, as Seph started to push against the large doors. "E cyet cdub (I said stop)!" Seph continued to push on the doors, which were slowly opening. "Vena (Fire)!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." JT said from behind them. The two guards spun around and found JT scowling at them. "It's not polite to point guns at someone's back!"

"Kid leave now!" One of the guards shouted in broken Spirian, drawing the attention of everyone in the area except for Seph, who had finally gotten the door open enough to slip inside the temple.

"Did you really expect that to work?" JT asked with a raised eyebrow while stepping in-between the two guards. A single kick sent the one in front of him to the ground, moaning something about children. Without a second's hesitation JT spun around, his foot connecting solidly with the second guard's chin. The Al Bhed rolled with the kick and came back up with a knife in one hand. 'Didn't see that one coming.'

"E's kuehk du caht oui du dra Farplane, get (I'm going to send you to the Farplane, kid)!" The guard muttered as he advanced slowly.

"E't mega du caa oui dno, oui byhco (I'd like to see you try, you pansy)!" JT replied instantly. The guard jumped at JT, his knife angling straight for the red-eyed Al Bhed's heart. JT rolled his eyes as he stepped to the side, grabbed the guard's wrist and twisted. 'Idiot.'

888

"Gippal!" Seph said cheerfully as he walked into the Djose temple. The Al Bhed leader took one look and his normally happy face drooped.

"Why the hell are you here?" He demanded.

Seph looked at him with mock-pain on his face. "Gippal, I'm hurt. I thought we were friends."

"That's what you said two years ago, too." Gippal shot back. "Before you tried to get us killed."

"Hey, that wasn't my fault. I told you already, I didn't know there were going to be _that _many fiends, or I would've come with. And besides, you're alive, aren't you?" Gippal glared at Seph with his one eye as the god walked around and admired the headquarters. "I see you've got machina all over the place."

"We are the Machina Faction for a reason." Gippal replied dryly. "Now what do you want? The longer you're here, the less work I can get done."

"Ok, I'll get straight to the point." Seph turned to face Gippal fully, letting his cheerful demeanor give way to his old one, the one of Spira's number one assassin. "Rae's gone missing."

Gippal's throat tightened. "You let something happen to Rae?" He asked quietly.

"I didn't let _anything _happen. I never do. She left without telling me." Seph reached inside his shirt to an interior pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "She left this."

Gippal walked over and ripped the paper out of Seph's hand. His heart skipped a beat when he read it.

_Seph,_

_I'm going to see what I can find out about the Leblanc Syndicate. I should be back in a few days. Take care of TJ for me._

_P.S. don't mess around or I'll kick your ass, got it?_

"That definitely sounds like Rae." Gippal admitted sadly. "What happened to her, do you know?"

"What part of 'Rae's gone missing' didn't you catch?" Seph asked as he fished around in another pocket. "I checked out the Leblanc Syndicate's headquarters in Guadosalam. None of them had ever seen someone like Rae. I did, however, find this when I went to leave." He handed Gippal another note.

_Sir Seph (God of Water),_

_I sincerely hope you have been doing well. I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of taking care of your girlfriend for the time being, what with her overhearing my plans and all. If you want to save her, I'll see you in the Den of Woe, _if _you can open it that is. _

_Sincerely,_

_Yu Yevon._

"It was in a box that had Rae's name on it." Seph said when Gippal handed him back the note.

"You can't think that that note is for real, can you? I mean, come on. _Yu Yevon_? Yuna sent the guy two years ago! Besides," Gippal added before Seph could make any comment, "nobody can get into the Den of Woe. It's impossible."

"First of, Yu Yevon is the god of gods, Gippal. Would it really surprise you if Yuna wasn't _able _to send him? And second off, why do you say it's impossible to get into the Den of Woe? The Crimson Squad sealed it, didn't they?"

"No." Gippal replied calmly. "We were supposed to. Someone beat us to it. And damn, he kicked all four of our asses."

"Who the hell could beat all four of you?" Seph demanded nervously. The thought of someone besting the Crimson Squad left him more then slightly unnerved.

"I dunno. He had long silver hair, wore a dress, big tall guy. Giant ass sword." Gippal sighed. "Called him self Lusneck or something like that."

Seph's throat tightened. "Lusniec?"

"Yeah, that's it, why? Know him?"

Seph nodded, "A little." Seph's mind raced. 'What the hell would Lusniec want in the Den of Woes?'

"Look, Seph. We don't have a great history together, I know. In fact, most people would probably call us enemies." Gippal smiled slightly. "But we both care about Rae. She's one of the best friends I ever had. I don't want to see her get hurt if I can help it."

"What are you saying?" Seph asked quietly.

"I'm saying that I've still got a few friends in the world. I'll have them find out anything they can about her, and if I find something that sounds promising I'll let you know."

Seph raised an eyebrow. "Why not just go and save her yourself? Maybe then she'd go out with you rather then me."

"Give me a break, Seph. I've got hundreds of chicks lining up to see me, and I still have to run the Machina Faction. I can't _afford _to leave, but you can." Gippal chuckled slightly. "It's something that you have that, at this rate, I never will. And besides, the note was addressed to you specifically, right? And if what you say is true, if it really _is _from Yu Yevon, then there's no way in hell the Crimson Squad, even if we could get back together, could stop him. But I dunno, something's telling me that maybe you and whoever else you fight with could."

Seph rolled his eyes and bowed mockingly. "You honor me."

"I don't honor you, I respect you. You kicked my ass once before, and that was when I lived to fight. After two years of pushing pencils, while you were out fighting and having fun, I don't think I could exactly kill you. I'm not _that _arrogant."

"You aren't?" JT asked as he walked into the temple. Seph and Gippal turned to face him.

"What the hell happened to your lip?" Gippal demanded.

"Nice to see you to Gippal." JT replied dryly. "But I think you might want to get some new door guards…"

"What the hell! You've been here for, what, ten minutes at best and knocked out two guards!" Gippal cried. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"They were going to shoot Seph. In the back no less. If Rae found out that I let that happen…" JT shivered at the thought of what his older sister would do. "She's got a lot of fiends you know. Besides, I did you a favor, Gippal. Those two weren't worth two Gil a day."

Gippal's eye twitched slightly. "They were volunteers." He replied. "And after what _you _probably did to them, I don't think anyone else is going to volunteer for the job, are they?"

"How do you know what I did?" JT asked cautiously. "It wasn't _that _bad. I mean, the bones should be healed in a few weeks, nothing too major. And it's not like I _killed _them or anything. Just kicked their asses." Seph and Gippal sighed.

"JT, you know Rae's going to kill me for teaching you martial arts if she finds out, right?" Seph asked slowly.

"Yep."

"Do you plan on letting her find out?" Seph questioned.

"Not unless I have to." JT replied easily. "Besides, what could she do to a god?" Gippal and Seph shared a nervous look.

"Have you ever _seen _Rae when she's angry?" Gippal asked his friend.

"No, why?" JT asked, seemingly slightly confused. Gippal and Seph shivered.

"Lucky you." The two said at the same time.

888

Through the fog that clouded her mind Rae felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "Wake up, whore. Food's here." Someone said in an amused voice. Rae's eyes flittered open, and despite being half asleep, and the lack of sufficient lighting, she could make out the creature standing in front of her. It wasn't very intimidating at first glance. Other then it's red eyes with golden specs in them, the only one thing separated it from normal humans: a pair of cat ears sprouting from the top of its head.

Worst of all, she could sum up its personality in one word: sadist. The first day she'd been captured by the masked man, her guard had decided to see just how far it could push her before she broke. It hadn't taken much. She'd seen Seph torture people before. But _watching _torture, and _being _the one that's getting tortured were to very different things. It hadn't even taken her guard an hour to get all the information the masked man wanted, not that he'd actually stopped afterwards.

So now, even with the second meal she'd had in three days in front of her, she hesitated. The aches in her body reminded her that it wasn't just some nightmare. If she offended her guard, she suspected he had permission to do what he needed to, to keep her in line. "Well, whore. You gonna sit there and let that go to waste or you gonna eat it?" Without hesitating Rae reached out and took the tray. To her surprise he didn't make any move to stop her. "The boss wants to chat with you when you're done. Don't keep him waiting too long, or I'll be seeing you afterwards, got it?" Rae nodded and ate her food as quickly as she could.

When she was done her guard led her out of the dingy, dirty, dark cell she'd been forced to live in for a week and a half, and into what appeared to be a giant cave. More of the cat people, she still didn't have the faintest clue as to what species they were, walked around the cave busily. Each one, Rae noted, was carrying weapons. 'What is going on?' she wondered.

"Lady Rae, I'm glad to see you're still alive. My guard said that you might not live to meet with me, despite my desire to speak with you." The masked man commented absently when Rae was led into a well decorate, well-lighted room with everything from couches to a dry bar. "Would you care for a drink?"

"I don't think I could handle anything but water." Rae said with a phantom of a smile. Why did this guy's voice sound so familiar?

"Guard, fetch her some water." The man ordered instantly. The guard hissed slightly but obeyed. As soon as it was out of the room the door shut behind it and Rae heard a lock snap into place. "How have you found your visit? I understand that you've been in that cell for, what, three weeks now?" Rae nodded and found that even _that _sent a jolt of pain through her head.

"The cell wasn't so bad. The guard was." The man's head tilted slightly. "He's, is it a he?" The man nodded. "Well, he's a sadist."

"He is?" The voice sounded genuinely surprised. "Huh. That would explain why so many of our guest don't make it long enough to speak with me." Rae nodded and the man continued, "You don't look like you've been eating well, either. Didn't he feed you twice a day?" Rae shook her head slowly.

"Three times a week if I'm lucky." Rae stated bluntly.

"I'll have to have a… talk… with him before I leave. Don't worry, you'll have a new guard by the end of the night." Rae let out a sigh of relief. "In fact, you'll be staying here for the rest of your stay."

"Wha?" Rae asked in astonishment. "Here? Why, I'm your prisoner aren't I?"

"Well, technically speaking, yes, you are. However, you've also become a pivotal part in my plan, you see. In other words I need you _alive _and from how you look now, no offense, you won't last much longer in your current cell." The man stated calmly. "And, to be honest, the only reason you were even taken to begin with was _because _you saw one of them."

"Them? You mean the cat-people?" The man nodded. "_That's _why I'm here? Because I saw one of your slaves?"

"Allies." The man corrected.

"Whatever!" Rae yelled. "I've been under the care of a sadist for _three weeks _because I saw a cat-person? Damn it, I thought the fucking ears were fake! And what the hell do you mean by 'you've become a pivotal part in my plan'?"

"Yes, my plan. I was hoping we'd get to discuss it." The man reached up and removed the mask, and Rae felt her heart jump into her throat.

"Andy?" She managed to whisper. The sudden revelation sapped what little strength she'd been using to stay standing, and she collapsed onto the couch. "But why?"

Andy smiled. "First off, I'm not Andy." Rae just raised an eyebrow, too shocked to do anything else. "I'm just using his body, his powers, you get the picture. And as to you being a pivotal part of my plan, you're my bait." He leaned forward. "Your boyfriend help stop my plans two years ago, along with that whore of a Summoner, Yuna. And for that, you're _all _going to pay. Every. Last. One."

"You can't be alive." Rae muttered in disbelief. "Yuna sent you and Sin, you _can't _be alive!"

Yevon snorted. "Please. Do you think a mere _mortal _could stop me? Only one being has the ability to 'send' me. That's the god of Death. Sin. And _he _was sent, which means he can't send _me_." Yevon smiled evilly. "So you see, by sending Sin, Yuna damned Spira."

* * *

muwahahahahahahahahahahahahah! spira is DAMNED because of the events in FFX! bet nobody saw _that _coming, heh. and what's gonna happen to Rae? and what's Gippal's connection to her? well, you'll just have to read and find out. 


	5. Problems All Over Spira

hey everyone, i'm back! i spent, quite litterally, almost all day typing yesterday so that i could bring you another installment of my story! so now, onto the reviews!

Auron's Fan- yes, i have an entire second story in addition to the game's story. make's life really hard --. and i get the feeling a lot of people were cheering when Seph came back, i know i was :-). yeah, Vena and Usi are kool. yeah, Yuna damned spira when she sent Sin. but since when has fighting an impossible-to-kill monster ever held Yuna and her friends back? NEVER! muwahahahahah. as for how gippal and rae know each other, you'll just have to wait and see, same with what happeneds when rae finds out that JT learned martial arts, although you can probably get pretty close with your imagination... oh, and is this soon enough for you?

Anasazi Darkmoon- yeah, yuna's gang's in a rather tight spot with that, aren't they? and as for the cat people, you get to learn more about them this chapter! no, nick isn't the successor to the god of death. yeah, Seph's back, and now he's travelling with rae's lil' brother. they're in this chapter too. i'm honored you'd put me on your fav. list tho, so thank you! and as for being better then the game, personally i don't think that's hard. it was a giant let down in my opinion.

Da KeR MysTeRr- muwahahahahahahahahah! that was the point! i was counting on the fact that nobody would expect that twist... he he he. i know what it's like to not be able to live something down around your friend, too. until someone tops the stupid comment/action of the person being made fun of, that person doesn't get to live it down. we're evil to each other --... and if i had know your brother was a jerk i wouldn't have asked you to apologize for me. as for the bruise, hope it doesn't hurt. yeah, seph's back. and, yeah, he's with rae's little brother, but it's JT and not TJ. anyway, yeah, X-2 was a major let down in my personal opinion. as for vegnagun being a joke,i killed yevon and jecht in a total of six hits, without getting hit myself, so vegnagun wasn't as big a joke as them, altho i trained like mad to beat them so easilly. and in my 10 game i was still lvling every other fight in the omega ruins, despite the fact that i killed the final bosses in three hits each! and thank you for trying to get your friend colleen to read my story. and i did check out your page. i'm the only person to get a sequal on there! yeah, go me! so until you get to review again, toodles!

labrat-seph- ah, i think i confused you. i meant that i do allow anonymous reviews. sorry bout that. but, no, shinagami isn't there to send yu yevon. it's there for a somewhat similiar reason, but not to send yevon. and i hope whatever's wrong gets better soon, 'cause despite not knowing you in person, i don't like it when people aren't having a good time, so i guess i kinda **_DO _**care (shrugs) just who i am. anyway, as for the writer's block, that's why there were so many mistakes last chapter. i tried to rush it, so yeah. sorry to everyone for that, but i wanted to get it up as soon as i could. to be honest... last chapter was more rushed then this one. is that weird $.$?

Sephirothxx- yeah, last chapter didn't have much fighting. this is the part where i'm starting to really go away from the plot of X-2, so from now on you can expect more fighting. i don't think the game has enough boss battles, personally. yes, i kept what you said in mind, so lemme know how i do. if i'm still confusing you with my dialoug i'll try harder next time. as for the plot twist, after 2 Fallen Gods,are you really surprised that i have such good ones? oh, and is this too long to update?

and since i updated so quickly, this is all the reviews that i have. sorry to those of you who didn't have time to review. i have no life so i've got lots of free time. need job so i can get money... so i can get new things and actually have stuff to do!

* * *

ProblemsAllOver Spira 

Rae found herself alone in the room that Yevon had given her rather then her cell. Before departing Yevon had left her with a terrifying statement. "When I've beaten all of your friends I'm going to bring them to you. And you're not only going to watch them all die, painfully, slowly, one by one, you're going to choose the order they die in."

That had been, as far as Rae could tell, an hour ago. Since then she'd tried everything she could think of to get the terrifying statement off her mind. She'd explored the room and found two doors, one that led to a beautiful bathroom and one that led to a fully stocked kitchen. She'd taken a bath to get the grime and filth off her, but even something that normally took her mind off the worries of the world couldn't force the statement out. Now she sat on the couch, starring at a half empty glass of water sitting in her hands.

Someone knocked on the door. 'Odd,' she thought. 'If I'm a prisoner, why would they be knocking?' another knock came, this time slightly harder. "Come in?"

The door opened just enough for a teenage girl to walk in and close the door behind her quietly. "Hello." Rae stared at the teen, more then slightly confused by how polite she was being. "My name is Kitty. It's nice to meet you."

Rae blinked before saying, "My name's Rae. Nice to meet you too…" The brown haired woman stepped forward and sat down on the couch next to Rae, still smiling sweetly. A smile, Rae noted, that had more then a few sharp teeth.

"You must be pretty confused." Kitty commented with a giggle that knocked some of her long hair into her sapphire blue eyes. "Let me explain. Like I said earlier, my name is Kitty. I'm a… well, we never actually named our race to be honest. Yevon showed up one day and started calling us the 'Lydc' so that's pretty much what we all call ourselves now." Kitty frowned at Rae's giggling. "What?"

"Lydc is Al Bhed for Cats." Rae said quietly.

"Oh. Well I guess that makes sense, what with all the ears and tails and claws." Kitty shrugged and claws popped out of her fingernails and then went back. "Anyway, since what-ziz-face just got skinned, I'm your new guard!" Rae stared at her with open confusion. "I know, I don't look like someone who could stop somebody, do I?" Rae nodded slowly, but Kitty just nodded. "Yeah, I'm not even a great fighter. Decent, if I'm lucky."

"Then why would they have you as a guard?" Rae asked curiously. "No offense, but it doesn't make a lot of sense…"

"Well, let's just say that I don't exactly like Yevon… and I'm not shy about it. Yevon doesn't do anything about it because I'm just one Lydc, and the fact that if he did all the others would turn on him, not that they're really serving him now. Anyway, despite al that he does have more then a little influence with the clan elders, so they put me on guard duty to shut me up."

"Ah. I see." Rae nodded slowly. "Makes sense now."

"So what happened to get you all the way down here? I mean, you don't look like a Lydc, so you're from the surface, right?" Kitty seemed almost hopeful that Rae was, for a reason that was far beyond the Al Bhed's understanding.

"Well... yeah, I'm from the surface, why?" Rae's declaration caused a smile to explode on Kitty's face.

"Oh! What's it like, huh? The surface I mean. The Lydc aren't allowed to go to the surface until some legend comes true, so I'm not allowed to go up, so can you tell me what it's like, please?" Rae had to lean back to get enough room to breath.

"Uhhh… sure. I don't have anything better to do." Rae watched, more then slightly amused, as Kitty turned to face her face to face, sitting cross legged on the couch. "Well, I guess I'll start with Bikanel Desert."

**888**

_"Just remember always that they are not the Fayth's dream alone. They are the dream of anyone who wish for their help…"_

The words caused pictures of Kaze, the Aeon that Yuna's father, High Summoner Braska, and Tidus, the teen that had been with Ryan as he fell off the airship two years ago, to come flooding back. Hundreds of images whirled through his head, too fast for him to catch, or hold on to…

Ryan's eyes shot open and he found himself starring at the end of Nick's practice weapon. "Hey, man, you ok? You're face was contorting like mad. Looked like all the muscles in your face were spazzing out at the same time. And why the hell are you sitting on the floor?"

Ryan shook his head, but an image of Tidus standing next to Kaze wouldn't leave his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a freaky ass dream. As for sitting on the floor, I don't trust myself enough to sit on such small chairs while I mediate."

"Whatever you say." Nick muttered before dropping his sparring gear and walking back to the bar. "Ok, Hypello, gimme some Sake."

"Coming wright up Mishter Nick." Hypello said before ducking under the counter and returning with a bottle of Sake. "Come again plhease."

"Will do, Hypello." Nick said with a little salute. "Want some?" He asked Ryan who was now sitting in a chair.

"They have _Sake _on board?" Ryan asked in amazement.

"Yeah. Me and Sakura found that out before you woke up. When we were on Besaid, I think that's what Matt called it." Nick shrugged and sat down. "We asked Hypello for a complete list of what he had. Sake was the last thing he said. Didn't register until after we'd left though, and I was kind of hoping that, other then Yuna and Sakura, nobody else would find out."

"Yuna knows?" Ryan asked, still trying to clear his head.

"Yeah. Hypello says that before we showed up, she used to drink like a demon. Now, she still drinks, but not like she used to. Even so, sometimes she still gets totally wasted."

Ryan blinked in amazement. "Yuna… wasted? I can't really picture that…"

Nick poured some Sake into a traditional little bowl in front of Ryan. "Me neither, but frankly I don't care. She wants to get wasted, I'll be right there with her." The two downed the drink and Nick laughed. "Jeez, forget Yuna getting wasted. I can't picture her being able to handle more then two or three drinks of this stuff. Damn it's strong."

"A lot stronger then what Auron got us in Japan, that's for sure. Then again, how good can Sake from a beer distributor-like establishment be?" Nick nodded in agreement and poured Ryan another cup.

"What the hell? Where'd you two get Sake?" Matt asked as he walked in, Sakura and Rikku barely two steps behind.

"Yo!" Nick held the Sake bottle up. "You up for a drinking contest?"

"Sure." Sakura passed by Matt, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

"That was directed to Matt…" Nick clarified.

"Tough shit. Can I get a cup, or am I drinking right outta the bottle?" Everyone in the room just stared at Sakura in utter amazement.

"Shure, mish Sakura. Here shou go." Hypello held out three more cups.

"Hey, I'm not an alcoholic." Rikku said before sitting down next to Ryan.

"And I've had enough freaky dreams for one day." Ryan added. "But I'll make sure nobody hits nobody."

"You pansy." Nick muttered as he started pouring drinks.

"Four words: Drunken Hiten Mitsurugi Style." Ryan said bluntly.

"Fair enough, mediator you are." Matt agreed after he'd filled his glass for his second drink.

"Drunken Hiten Mitsurugi Style…" Rikku questioned slowly. "What's so bad about that?"

"Well, let's just say Ryan's personality changes when he drinks too much. A lot. He goes from himself, to a street brawler in two seconds. Add a sword into the combo when you're the one he's fighting, and he's so drunk he can't walk right, and you get a _bad _combo." Nick said before downing another cup. "But that's besides the point. Ryan, you know the rules. Move, biatch!"

Ryan shook his head, stood up, and fetched three more Sake bottles, putting one down in front of each contestant. "Drink up. Hypello seems to be rather well stocked."

**888**

"Ohhh, the surface sounds sound pretty!" Kitty said with a defeated sigh when Rae finished.

"What's wrong? I mean, I know you said you couldn't go to the surface, but I thought you were joking." Kitty shook her head sadly.

"No. The elders are deadly serious. Until 'the man who can walk on water' comes, none of us are allowed to go to the surface. But frankly, I'm the only Lydc that would probably even go. Nobody wants to be bothered with going to the surface. They're all waiting for some 'ancient evil' that our ancestors trapped down here somewhere to come back to power."

"Ancient evil? What ancient evil?" Kitty shrugged the question off.

"Nobody knows. But supposedly our ancestors swore to not rest until it was destroyed for good." Kitty sighed. "But if the 'man who can walk on water' does show up while I'm alive, I'm gonna go with'em! I wanna see the surface world."

"Man who can walk on water?" Rae felt herself smiling. "Does it say anything else about him?"

"Why?" Kitty eyed Rae curiously.

"Just tell me. Does it say anything else about him?" Kitty closed her eyes and her ears folded down slightly while her tail, which was lying in her lap, twitched slightly.

"Well… it says he won't be the first with that power… and that someone'll give it to him. When he comes looking he'll be looking for his… love, I think. And… he'll bare the scars of many battles." Kitty sighed. "There's more, but I can't remember the rest of it."

"Oh my god!" Rae squealed. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! Kitty, that's my boyfriend!" Kitty's hand hit Rae so fast that the Al Bhed barely saw the blur.

"You think that's _funny_! Making fun of my dream like that, I thought you were better then that, Rae!" Kitty hissed as he fingernails grew into claws. "What's so wrong with wanting to see the surface? Well? Why does everyone make fun of me for it! And you're the worst of all! You're _from _the surface. And then you go and claim you _boyfriend _is the man of legend? No human can walk on water! I've read about humans, and none of them can!" Rae backed off the couch in a desperate attempt to put some room between her and her suddenly berserk guard.

"Kitty, I'm not joking!" Rae cried desperately while rolling away from the couch, barely getting away before Kitty's claws dug into the ground. "You have to believe me. Seph really _can _walk on water! He has a lot of scars!" She jumped scrambled into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. "He isn't the first to be able to do it. It's just that all of the ones before him, the ones Zedih gave that powers of the God of Water to, were killed before anyone found out about it!"

Kitty hissed and stabbed through the door barely a hair's width above Rae's head. "Liar!"

"Kitty, you have to believe me!" Rae said as she scrambled away from the door, which exploded in towards her. 'Seph, help!' Rae thought as she covered her head. Bits of wood flew past, cutting her arms so badly that she cried out in pain. "Please, Kitty, stop! I'm telling you, I'm not lying!" Kitty stepped over her, hissing angrily, and Rae found herself trapped by a wall. On instinct she covered her head and curled up into as small a ball as she could, not noticing the tears that streamed down her face. "Please… you've got to believe me! If he's not coming for me then I'll be trapped here forever, or…" Yevon's declaration brought another wave of tears. "Or I'll have to watch all my friends die!"

Kitty stopped hissing as she watched the trembling, muttering, terrified Al Bhed in front of her. She looked around at the ruined door, and then at her own hands. "What was I…" she dropped to the ground when she realized that she'd been about to kill the only friend she'd had in years. "Rae, I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to, I swear!" she dropped to the ground, horrified at herself. "I can't believe what I was going to do… Rae, please, stop crying. Please?"

Rae's arms moved away from her face and Kitty's heart dropped. Rae was watching her with eyes filled with nothing but terror. Her claws retracted slowly and she started to hold her hands out to help Rae up, but stopped. Rae'd flinched away. Defeated and mortified by what she'd done, Kitty slumped against the side of the bathtub and brought her knees up to her chest.

Rae sat up slowly. "Kitty?" She looked at the Lydc and found her shaking. Wiping her own tears away she moved next to her only friend in the underground society that she'd become a prisoner of. "Kitty, are you ok?" Kitty shook her head slightly. "Kitty, it's ok. I'm fine, see?" Kitty didn't budge and Rae put a comforting arm around Kitty's shoulder. "Hey, I understand. You thought I was making fun of your dream, right?" Kitty nodded a little. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make fun of it."

Kitty raised her head and smiled at Rae slightly. "I didn't mean to scare you. It's just… everyone always makes fun of me for going to the surface." She wiped the tears off her face before continuing, "And then you got captured. I couldn't believe it. I finally had someone to talk to about the surface, someone who'd _been _to the surface no less." She sniffed slightly and Rae smiled. "And then, when you said the man that could walk on water was your boyfriend… it just seemed too good to be true. So I assumed you were making fun of me, just like everyone else does."

Rae nodded knowingly, ignoring the headache she'd gotten from crying. "Don't worry about it. It's important to stick up for your dreams." Kitty smiled and leaned her head against Rae's shoulder. "Trying to kill the person in question might be a _little _extreme though."

Kitty giggled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose."

"So, still going to try to and kill me?" Rae asked jokingly. Kitty shook her head. "Good. Now how about we go have a drink, and I'll tell you some more about Seph." She shook her head with sarcastic despair. "You're sure going to be surprised at some of the stuff he's done."

**888**

Rikku stared at the table in front of her with open amazement. "I didn't know that a human could drink so much…" Ryan sighed.

"Yeah. Nick and Matt can go overboard. I mean, I've seen them have drinking contests before, but those were always at bars. They'd run out of money before… _this_." He motioned to the table in front of them, where all three of their friends were passed out.

"I was talking about Sakura." Rikku commented. "I mean, I'm not really all that surprised that Nick and Matt can hold their liquor."

"Twelve bottles of Sake? Each? That's not surprising, how?" Ryan whispered.

"Hey, don't forget. Sakura got fourteen bottles. Just goes to show you," Rikku said with a smile, "that girls are better then boys."

Ryan rolled his eyes and muttered, "I've heard _that _comment before." Ryan muttered as Yuna walked out of her room and stumbled into the hall. "Yuna, you ok?"

"She's drunk." Rikku said quietly, pulling Ryan past their stumbling friend. As they darted by Yuna's open room Ryan didn't miss the three empty Sake bottles on her bed. They moved through the halls until they reached the elevator, neither talking. After Rikku'd punched one of the buttons she finally explained, "She's been like that since about a week after Tidus and you and Matt disappeared." Rikku said quietly.

"I know how she feels." Ryan muttered quietly as the door opened next to him. A cool breeze blew through the elevator and Ryan leaned over. "The deck? Why'd we come here?"

Rikku shrugged. "I dunno, I just come here when I'm bored and not at one of the stations. It sort of became my own way of dealing with you guys leaving. You know, sort of just sitting alone and thinkin' about everything we did." She walked out and sat down on the deck, seemingly unaffected by the cool night air. "It was just really… calming. Let me disappear for awhile."

"Oh, I know _all _about disappearing." Ryan pointed out as he sat down next to her. "Believe me, you don't wanna get stuck that way. It really sucks." Rikku giggled.

"I know, but sometimes it's nice to get away from everything. You know what I mean?" Ryan nodded, knowing fully what Rikku meant. "So… I have to ask you. For Yunie's sake. _Did _you find a way to bring Tidus back?" Ryan felt his throat tighten to the point where he couldn't talk, so he simply shook his head. "I didn't think you'd be able to. I mean, he was just a dream…"

"_Just remember always that they are not the Fayth's dreams alone. They are the dream of anyone who wishes for their help."_ The wind whispered in Braska's voice.

"They aren't the Fayth's dream alone…" Ryan repeated absently. "They're the dream of anyone who wishes for their help…"

"Wha?" Rikku asked in a confused voice. "The Fayth are gone. They were gone when we killed Yevon."

"But what if we didn't kill Yevon?" Ryan asked after a few minutes.

"What do you mean by that?" Rikku asked in a worried voice.

"Well, I mean… didn't it seem kind of odd that a bunch of mortals could kill the strongest god of all time? Even if Matt and Andy did use their final attacks on him. What if two gods simply wasn't enough?" Ryan turned to face Rikku who was staring at him like he was insane. "What then?"

"I guess we'd… have to kill him again." Rikku said slowly. "Why? Ryan, what aren't you telling me?"

"It's just… I dunno. That thought's been bugging me since we got back to earth." He sighed and stretched out on the deck. "It just seemed too much like a fairy tale ending."

"A fairy tale ending? Ryan, _Lusniec _brought you back to _life_. How is you nearly dying a 'fairy tale ending?'" Rikku demanded.

"I meant the part about killing Yevon." Ryan replied instantly. "Believe me, dying is _not _my idea of a fairytale ending."

"Good." Rikku muttered as she laid her head on his chest. "But if you're talking about killing Yevon, yeah, I suppose it was. But after what we went through, we earned it, right?"

Ryan nodded. "That's true. Not many people could say they fought Lusniec and lived to tell about it. Nor Yojimbo." He smiled. "Maybe there are fairy tale endings."

The elevator opened up and someone stumbled onto the deck. "Hey… wahs you two doin out here dish wate at night?"

"Yunie?" Rikku asked in disbelief as a ray of moonlight flooded the deck. "Yunie, go back inside. It's not safe to be out here when you're drunk, you know that."

"I'sh not dwunk, Wikku." Yuna said as she continued to stumble across the deck towards them. "Wash yew two do'n owt hewe?"

"Talking." Rikku said slowly. "Yunie, you should really get to bed. You're going to have a horrible hang over tomorrow." The elevator hissed open again as Yuna continued to stumble towards Ryan and Rikku. "Paine, are you ok?" Rikku asked as her friend stomped outside with a bruise on her face, glaring daggers at Yuna's back.

"OK, Yuna. Time to get hurt." Paine said bluntly. As she started towards Yuna, the former Summoner stumbled to the side and lost her balance. Before anyone could do anything the Celsius turned, throwing Paine, Ryan, and Rikku to the deck while throwing Yuna off entirely. "Yuna!"

"Yunie!" Rikku yelled as she jumped over to the edge and watched her cousin fall.

Ryan looked over at Paine while taking his jacket off and asked, "I don't suppose either of you'll be saving her."

"No." Paine snapped and Ryan nodded thoughtfully.

"This is why I hate drunks that fly." He muttered as he threw Paine his jacket. "Hold this. Rikku, hold my swords." Paine watched in confusions as Ryan took two steps and jumped.

"Are you crazy? Ryan!" Paine shouted as he plummeted over the edge.

**888**

"Lusniec, Shuyin, what are you two doing?" Yevon demanded when he walked into the Heart of the Farplane to find the two cut up, bleeding badly, and breathing heavily.

"Sparring." Shuyin replied immediately. "Why?"

"It looks like the two of you are having a death match." Yevon told them. But if you're just sparring, then I suppose it doesn't really matter. Just don't kill each other. It's hard as hell to find competent help, none the less two competent people."

"What are you doing back so soon?" Lusniec asked as he wiped some blood off of Demon Edge. "I thought you were going to spend some time with the Lydc, where ever the hell the Lydc live."

"They live in subterranean caves." Yevon said absently. "And I finished the business I had there. Rae's terrified. I told her I was going to make her watch, and choose the order in which her friends die."

Lusniec smiled evilly. "I like that idea." He admitted. "Making her choose what order her friends die in…"

"You are a sick fuck." Shuyin stated bluntly. He stepped back just in time to watch the black blur that was Lusniec's sword pass in front of his face harmlessly.

"Watch who you call a sick fuck in the future." Lusniec advised. "Otherwise it might just get you killed."

"Ok, break it up. We've got no time for this! We're working together, remember?" Yevon yelled at the top of his lungs, startling fiends throughout the entire area.

The ground shook as several of the stronger, or braver ones decided to check out the source of the noise. "Thanks Yevon," Lusniec said dryly, "I was hoping for a little exercise." He twirled Demon Edge absently, the cursed blade leaving a black trail to mark its path through the air. "Wind Cutter!" The closer of the two fiends, I giant turtle looking thing, burst into pyreflies. "Well, it works as well in the Heart of the Farplane as it does outside of the Farplane. That's good to know."

"Please, that was pitiful. When I heard you were Lusniec, I thought you _might _be decent in a fight." Shuyin spat before running up to the other fiend and slashed it a bunch of times before jumping back.

"Oh, and a couple of slashes is better then my Wind Cutter?" Lusniec snapped back.

"Terror of Zanarkand!" Shuyin yelled as he shoved his sword into the ground and jumped off it. A blitzball with spikes materialized when he reached the zenith of his jump and, wit an insane grin, kicked it into the second fiend's face. The blitzball dug into it, and then exploded.

"Oh, that's just plain tasteless." Lusniec muttered. "At least try to be a little less messy." Lusniec complained as he stepped through a maze of blood and guts that were slowly becoming pyreflies. "After all, swordsmanship is an art. Can't you at least do a little better then _stick figures_?"

"Listen, father fucker, I don't take orders from you! I don't even take orders from Yevon! I'm only in this little band 'cause it fits in with _my _plans!" Shuyin snarled.

"Really?" Yevon asked politely. "Do tell me, Shuyin. What _are _your plans?"

**888**

"What's wrong, boy? Tired already?" Jecht teased his son when Tidus sat down.

"You wish, old man." Tidus replied instantly. "You know you can't keep up with me anymore. You're too old." Jecht burst into laughter as Auron walked into the room. "Hey, Auron. What's up?"

"Hey Auron. Finish what you need to do?" Auron answered Jecht's question with a simple nod.

"Tidus. Get up. You've got work to do." Auron ordered.

"Wha? What work?" Tidus demanded as he stood up. Auron drew his sword and Tidus felt himself start to sweat. 'Oh boy.'

**888**

Ryan heard Paine's startled shout and smiled to himself as he dropped towards Yuna. 'It's been too long since I've gotten to do this.' He thought as pain raced through his body, originating from his shoulder blades. His smile grew when the pain ceased, and two six-foot wings sent snow-white feathers in every direction. With a smile he pushed himself below Yuna, stopped in mid-air, and caught her. "Geez, sleeping already." Ryan muttered as he started back up towards the airship.

**888**

"They're both dead…" Paine muttered while dropping Ryan's jacket to the ground. "Rikku, what did you say to Ryan to make him want to jump off the edge of the Celsius?"

"You missed it." Rikku said with a knowing smile, still looking over the edge.

"Missed what? Ryan and Yuna's death?" She nodded. "Yeah, I missed that."

"Wrong." Rikku said flatly. "They're not dead."

"Come off it, Rikku. Ryan's no _god_. He can't _fly_. They're dead. End of story." Paine scowled at her friend who still had a knowing smile on her face. "Stop trying to make yourself believe he'll come back every time, because he _won't. That's _the truth."

"Guess again." Rikku said quietly. Before Paine could say anything something snow white drifted through the air in front of her. Confused, she reached out and grabbed it.

"A feather?" She asked as she examined it. "But for a feather this size, the bird's wing would have to be-"

"Six feet." Rikku finished for her happily.

"There aren't any birds that big that are white." Paine whispered in a voice that was as close to panicked as Rikku had ever heard from her.

"It's not from a bird." Rikku said as she stood up. Before Paine could say anything Rikku pointed behind her.

"Bird? What?" Ryan asked sarcastically as he landed on the deck. Paine turned around slowly and looked him over without showing the surprise that she felt. He had giant, snow-white wings that were slowly fading away. "Something wrong?"

Paine shook her head and held her arms out. "I'll take Yuna from here." She said in her normal voice. Ryan shrugged and handed Yuna to Paine. 'Well now, isn't he just full of surprises.' Paine thought as she boarded the elevator.

"She hides her emotions really well." Ryan pointed out when Paine'd left.

"Yep." Rikku agreed as she handed him back his swords. "You're in better shape this time around." Ryan looked down at himself and shrugged.

"That's what two years of battling fiends will do to you I suppose. Even someone as lazy as me can get into shape doing it." He said with another shrug. "Besides, are you really complaining?"

"Well," Rikku said slowly, "I guess not." Ryan shook his head sarcastically at her sarcastic tone. "We'd better go to bed. With how much everyone else drank, it's going to be you, me, and Paine for a little while tomorrow."

"I'm bursting with joy." Ryan said sarcastically as they walked into the elevator.

**888**

"Wow. This place looks the same." Ryan commented as he, Rikku, and Paine walked off the Celsius and onto the banks of the Moonflow. "Before everyone just wanted to get across the river. Then again, there _had been _Al Bhed sightings." He added sarcastically.

"Hey, it was for their own good!" Rikku countered. "Anyway, since we killed Sin two years ago, lots of people have been traveling. Trying to learn more about Spira and stuff like that."

"Thanks to Yuna." Paine added.

"Although, knowing Yuna, she'd probably say that she didn't do much." Ryan pointed out.

"True." Rikku said with a sigh. "She's got to learn to give herself a pat on the back once and a while!"

"Yeah she does." Ryan agreed.

"On this spot, I'll be sponsoring an extraordinary show!" A little man shouted to a few people in front of them. "Do, do come! Oh and I'm . Yup-yup! It will be splendid indeed! Mark my words! People here, and there, and merriment everywhere!"

"Hey, that sounds like fun!" Rikku said excitedly. Paine rolled her eyes and Ryan just smiled when Rikku added, to the little man, "Okay, well, we'll see you there!"

As they continued along their way the little man shouted, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I have a favor to ask of you!"

"Let's go." Paine said without slowing down.

"Right-o!" Rikku agreed, although she didn't move. "Ummm… actually, let's hear him out!" Paine let out a frustrated sigh but stopped walking.

"Oh, here's the thing, you see." Tobli said nervously. "My able assistant hasn't come back. From Luca, of course. Where else? He went to fetch some supplies which are vitally, crucially important! For the show you see."

"'Go check on him' right?" Rikku asked and Tobli nodded eagerly.

"Oh, quite, quite!" Tobli confirmed.

"Why ask us?" Paine questioned.

"You are the Gullwings, are you not?" Rikku nodded. "Gullwings Sphere Hunters! Sphere Hunters hunt spheres!" Tobli pulled a sphere out of his pocket.

"I guess that settles that…" Ryan said with a slight smile.

"Right, right." Tobli put the sphere back in his pocket. It's yours if you return my assistant safely back to safety." Tobli paused for a second before adding, "I think he must be in the general vicinity of Djose Temple. Oh, and he's a Hypello."

"Djose Temple. Got it. See you two soon." Ryan said as he stretched his legs. "Djose Temple is that way, right?" Paine rolled her eyes and Rikku burst into laughter.

"Yup-yup. That way to Djose!" Tobli answered when Rikku wasn't able to control her laughter.

"You don't really think we're going to let you do this _alone_, do you?" Paine asked just as Ryan was about to start running.

"You two would just slow me down." Ryan argued.

"It'll take the same amount of time either way." Paine insisted.

"No, you don't get it Paine." Ryan said calmly. "When I say you'll slow me down, I mean it. You two _would _just slow me down. After all, I am the fastest person in the world."

"I wouldn't go that far." Paine countered.

"Suit yourself. If you want to try and keep up, be my guest." Ryan said before he took off in a blur.

"Yeah," Rikku agreed when she saw Paine staring at the spot Ryan'd just been in with amazement, "we did the same thing when he was fast enough to leave an after image." Rikku smiled jokingly and nudged Paine inn the ribs, "Well, aren't you going to try to keep up with him?"

"No." Paine declared. 'Guess 'I am the fastest person in the world' wasn't even close to being an understatement.'

**888**

Ryan looked around as took a few deep breaths. 'I didn't realize that Djose Temple was quite _that _far.'

"Oh, I am in trubbable." The familiar sound of a Hypello caused Ryan to turn to his left. And sure enough a Hypello was standing there.

"Tobli's assistant I take it?" Ryan asked the Hypello who nodded eagerly.

"Are yoo friensh of the Chief?" The Hypello asked.

"Is his name Tobli?" Ryan asked, and the Hypello nodded in reply. "Then, yes, I'm a friend of the Chief. He got worried so he asked the Gullwings to come and pick you up."

"Thank yoo." The Hypello said gratefully.

**888**

"For the world's fastest man, it's sure taking him a while." Paine muttered from the tree she was leaning against.

"Well it is ten miles away. He may be the fastest person in the world, but that doesn't mean anything when he's escorting someone." Rikku countered. Paine rolled forward suddenly, sword flashing out. "What is it?" Rikku asked, daggers already in the ready position.

"Don't know." Paine admitted. "Something in the tree." Rikku sighed.

"Did you ever think that maybe it was a bird or something?" She questioned her albino friend.

"No birds live in the Moonflow. The pyreflies scare them." Paine stated while scanning the tree she'd just been leaning against. "There, towards the top."

Rikku looked up and found that some of the branches were rustling. "Well what do you know? Here I thought you were just completely paranoid."

"Want to get hurt?" Paine shot back without turning to face Rikku. "Get ready."

"Right." Rikku crouched a little lower and something darted out of the tree towards them. "Wait, that's Baby!" Rikku shouted.

"Wha?" Paine wondered as something darted across vision. Rikku cried out in horror and squeezed her eyes shut as Paine's sword slashed through the air Baby was in. Someone put something on her head, and she cracked an eye open.

"Yo." Ryan said simply. "Miss me? Apparently Baby missed you." He tapped her on the top of her head and when she reached up she felt the small squirrel, shivering but intact.

"Whew. He's gonna need therapy after that…" Rikku said jokingly as she picked him up and looked him over.

"Yeah, well. Paine's a paranoid swordswoman, no biggie." Ryan said with a shrug. Paine glared daggers at his back as Tobli handed her the sphere. "Anyway, it would appear," He motioned the Celsius, which was landing, "that our drunken companions have finally gotten over their hangovers."

**888**

"Seph, where to next?" JT asked from the tree branch he was resting in. "I mean, you can't seriously expect to find any clues in Macalania Woods. I mean, aside from the Macalania Temple, there was never really anything here."

"You never know." Seph replied reflexively. "I mean, we're chasing a god that kidnapped your sister. Who the hell knows where she is."

"I suppose that's true." JT admitted as he examined his Katar, which was pretty much a punching dagger, except there were actually two blades instead of one solid one. Strapping it back to his leg he put his hands behind his head and looked up at what he could see of the sky. "So why are we stopping? I mean, for all we know Rae could be seriously hurt right now."

"I doubt that." Seph replied absently. "Whoever kidnapped her knows who I am, and knows my relationship with her. They'll keep her safe because if they don't," He tossed a pendulum through the tree that JT was sitting, "I'm going to have one last job as Spira's number one assassin." JT smiled as Seph continued, "And they know it. She's just insurance."

"You'd better be right…" JT muttered as Seph walked over and retrieved his pendulum.

"JT, who is the person who used to _own _the underground? I've still got a lot of connections, and more influence then I'm willing to admit to your sister… so just trust me, ok?" Seph asked as he slid his pendulum back into its sheath. "As for Rae being seriously hurt, do you _really _think that she's going to let herself be hurt? I mean, other then Yevon, she's probably go nobody to worry about."

"Probably?" JT asked skeptically.

"Nothing gets by you, kid." Seph muttered. "Yes, probably. There are a few people I can think of that I'd rather not have to deal with aside from Yu Yevon. Only a few, mind you, but there are people in this world I don't want to even try fighting if I don't have to."

"Anyone you can mention by name?" JT asked sarcastically.

"Well, I'd rather not deal with the Lydc if I don't have to…" Seph muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" JT demanded.

"I said I'd rather not have to deal with the Lydc if I don't have to." Seph said, a hand already up to stall the coming question. "You ever fight a Ronso?"

"Once." JT admitted. "Got my ass handed to me too…"

"Well take a Ronso's strength, and combine it with martial arts skills that are at _least _as good as yours and the agility of a cat. And not a Ronso, 'cause they're cat like. I'm talking a big, hunting fiend-like cat." Seph glanced up and found JT looking rather pale. "Yeah, exactly."

"Ok, I think I've heard enough about the people that you don't want to fight." JT said quietly.

"Oh, no. There's still more about the Lydc for you to know. Like the fact that they have retractable, razor sharp claws that can cut through just about anything." Seph smiled when he heard JT gulp. "Or the fact that they're almost completely immune to magic! Or the fact that they have a cat's hearing."

"Okay, I get the point!" JT shouted while dropping out of the tree. "So where to now?"

"Well, I see it like this." Seph said bluntly. "Rae got kidnapped by Yu Yevon, right?" JT nodded. "So he's probably got her somewhere that nobody would look, right? But it'll also be somewhere that not a lot of people can get to, just in case. And a place that he feels at home in. So now we're down to one question: Where would a psychotic god put someone that nobody's likely to find, is out of the way, but still feels like home to him after several thousand years of life?"

"How the hell should _I _know!" JT shouted.

"Thank god we aren't relying on your skills." Seph muttered. "Think about it! He's been summoning a _dead city _for thousands of years!"

"I dunno, the Farplane?" JT asked as much as stated.

"Well at least you're not completely brain dead." Seph said with a laugh. "Yeah, the Farplane. And you know where the entrance to the Farplane is?" JT shook his head. "Through the Thunder Plains, in Guadosalam."

JT groaned. "I hate the Thunder Plains. They're so gloomy and dark. And all that lightning dodging…"

"Shut up and move it, you lazy bum." Seph ordered cheerfully.

"You suck, Seph. You really, really suck." JT complained before he started moving.

**888**

"Ohhhh, Seph! Kuut du caa oui ykyeh (Good to see you again)!" Rin said in his normal tone when Seph and JT walked into the travel agency. "What can I get for you this time?"

"A room." Seph said with a sigh. "Rae's brother can't handle long walks. I mean, we've only come from Macalania Woods and he's beat."

"Well that is a long distance for one not used to traveling." Rin admitted as he turned around and grabbed a key from the top of the key holder on the wall behind him. "Same as always."

"How many more stays do I have at your agencies?" Seph asked as Rin made a mark on a piece of paper with his name on it.

"Three more. But I sold the Macalania Agency, so I don't know if you will be able to stay there on your credits." Rin said in his monotone voice.

"Ok then. Thanks for the warning." Seph said happily before turning to JT. "Ok you, let's get going. Come on, outside."

"Outside? No way!" JT cried. "It's raining! That's why we came here!"

"Yeah, and our room is the basement." Seph said somewhat hotly. "Now move, before I make you sleep on the roof." JT's eyes nearly fell out of his head, but the threat got him moving.

"That was cold, Seph." JT stated when they were finally in the pitch-black room. "Very, very cold."

"Sure." Seph said absently as he walked into the darkness. He heard a "thud" behind him and a string of curses from JT and knew the boy had walked into a table. He knew every inch of the room. In even the pitch black that he was currently in, every aspect, everything about it came flooding back into his mind. Off to his right was a sword he'd gotten from his first victim. Above him was the staff of a Summoner who'd found out too much and hadn't shut up about it.

He stopped when his foot hit something that was slightly round. In his mind he knew exactly what it was. He shook his head, recalling how he'd redone the floor to warn him about things near him. This particular flaw, a slight hump in the floor barely the size of a hand and not an inch high, told him that all he had to do for light was reach up and pull down on the lantern.

"Oh, thank god!" JT exclaimed when Seph lit the lantern. "Why didn't you do that sooner? And how'd you know it was there?"

"When I was an assassin I had a headquarters at each of Rin's travel agencies. Always in the basement. He found out about them a few days after we killed Sin. After I explained what it was, who I was, what I'd been using them for, and how they could be as raid shelters he agreed to let me keep using them and not tell anyone about them." Seph shrugged. "Each one has pretty much the same layout, but this one is sort of like my showcase. Everything I ever kept from my jobs are in this one."

"Wow…" JT muttered as he looked around at the numerous trophies of Seph's work. "I understand why they called you the best. There has to be hundreds of things here!"

"Thousands, actually." Seph said quietly. "And, before you start asking questions, don't. I don't wanna talk about it." Seph punched the wall and the sound of machines sang out from underneath them. "You're gonna wanna step up against one of the walls." Just a split second after JT's foot left the ground the table in the middle of the room rose up to reveal a staircase.

"What the hell?" JT cried out in surprise.

"This, was here when I got here. However, I've found that, no matter how long I stay away, everything in it stays in perfect condition. The same food always stays good," he stepped into the stairwell, holding the lantern up for JT, "The same lanterns always run, and the same smell is always here no matter how much I try to get rid of it."

"What _is _it?" JT asked as he stepped into a brightly lit room.

"This? This was my _real _headquarters. And Rin doesn't know about it, so if you say anything you're dead, got it?" Seph asked.

"Yeah, but I've got two questions. First, what happens if Rin decides to come and visit?"

"He never does. It's part of our… uh… agreement." Seph replied instantly. "Second?"

"Why is there a silver haired guy in a dress in here?" Seph's throat tightened as he rounded the corner.

"Seph, it's been a while." Lusniec said calmly without getting up from his chair or turning to face the two. "I see you found my old house."

"What do you want, Lusniec?" Seph demanded through clenched teeth.

"Lusniec!" JT shouted in horror. "No way! _That's _Lusniec! Seph, we gotta go. Come on!" JT shouted, trying to pull Seph up the stairs.

"Don't bother." Lusniec said as he made a lazy motion with his hand. From the top of the stairs the sound of machines rang out. "You can't escape that way."

"Answer the question, Lusniec." Seph hissed as he put the lantern he was holding out. "What do you want?"

"Is this the thanks I get for letting you use my home, free of charge, for so many years?" Lusniec asked, finally standing up to face them. Demon Edge came out of its sheath and Lusniec held it up for both his guests to see. "You know, ever since I met you two years ago, I must confess… I've wanted to fight you."

Seph snorted. "Me? Why? Because I wasn't intimidated by you like everyone else?" two pendulums slid out of their sheaths silently and into his hand.

"Not completely. You were so… different from the others." Lusniec's smile warped and he started to chuckle manically. "Yes, you were so different. Matt was calm, and calculating, but if you provoked him enough he'd go berserk. Andy was hot headed and impatient. Ryan hesitated to kill, and still tries to convince himself that he doesn't enjoy it. But you… you were so _honest_! You don't loose your calm. You're patient, calculating, detached. You don't have any problems with killing your opponent."

"What's your point?" Seph demanded.

"My point is that you are the one most like me!" Lusniec yelled as he lunged forward, his giant sword nearly impaling Seph and JT in one thrust.

"JT, get the hell out of here!" Seph yelled as he tossed the two pendulums at Lusniec. The angel smirked as black energy shot out of the ground and knocked them away. "Move it! Find a way out!"

"R-right!" JT stuttered as he stumbled up the stairs.

"You don't really think that he can escape, do you?" Lusniec asked with a smug look on his face. "Seph, I thought you were smarter then that."

"Heh. You don't get to be Spira's number one assassin by working with others." Seph stated as he pulled out another pair of pendulums. "If he'd stuck around," another 36 pendulums dropped out of Seph's sleeves and Lusniec scowled, "I wouldn't have room to work!"

"Wind Cutter!" Lusniec snarled out the name as he slashed down with his sword.

"Aqua Wheel!" Seph whispered so quietly he barely heard it himself. A disk of water formed in front of him, small enough to fit in the palm of one of his hands. Lusniec's Wind Cutter slammed into it like the small wheel of water floating in the air between them like a mountain, exploding into harmless light.

"What!" Lusniec demanded as the wheel pulled the bursts of lights into itself, along with all of the pendulums Seph had left on the floor. With the tips of the pendulums sticking out it started to roll towards Lusniec, picking up speed by some force the confused angel couldn't begin to understand. Lusniec jumped to the right as it drew closer, but found that his feet had been bound to the ground by chains made completely out of water.

"Do you understand now, Lusniec?" Seph asked calmly. "Do you understand why I was the best assassin to ever live?"

Lusniec snorted. "You didn't beat me. You sacrificed sure footing for a killing blow! Wind Cutter!" This time the energy, black and red Seph noted absently, traveled under the wheel, tearing up the ground as it went. "I can't loose! I'm already dead! But you aren't!" Seph cursed and jumped to the side, crying out in pain as the attack slammed into his leg. "See you in hell!" Lusniec whispered as he appeared above Seph, blade poised for the killing blow.

"You first you cross dressing psycho!" JT cried as he let go of his Katar and dropped from the ceiling like a rock. His elbow slammed into Lusniec's face as the angel turned to see who'd insulted him, but a wave of black and red energy sent him flying into a nearby wall. At the last second the water in the air created a cushion barely thick enough to prevent the Al Bhed's spine from breaking.

"Ahhh, you must be Rae's brat brother." Lusniec said as he pushed against his broken nose. It snapped back into place with a loud crack and he laughed a little. "I guess caring about _scum _like Seph must run in the family. Fine, you die first!"

"Fuck off, Lusniec!" the water around the angel's body condensed in a fraction of a second. The water, now a bubble around Lusniec, continued to shrink until it was an outline of his body. "Water and Iron Maiden!" Seph's pendulums, which had scattered when his Aqua Wheel had fallen apart, flew through the water, through Lusniec, and back out the other side. Blood flew towards Seph when the attack ended.

"You… bastard." Lusniec growled through clenched teeth as he stumbled out of the attack. "Die!" Seph spun to the left on instinct, but he was a split second too slow. Lusniec's sword skewered him, and his own momentum tore the blade free of his flesh. Blood splattered across the room as Lusniec collapsed to the ground, nearly slipping in the pool of blood there. He tried to say something but only coughed up blood instead. 'You've bought yourself some time, brat. But we'll be back!' Lusniec thought bitterly as he grabbed Demon Edge. As soon as he touched it he threw one hand up into the air. A black rift opened, and engulfed him before disappearing completely.

**888**

"Lusniec, what happened?" Yevon asked with a calmness that didn't dispel the anger written across his face. "You were supposed to kill him!"

Lusniec put a hand on his chest and healing magic flowed into him, although it seemed to be much colder then it normally was. "Whatever. I'm here for Ryan, that's all. Remember?"

"I don't care _who _you're here for!" Yevon shouted. "So long as you're working with me, you'll go by the plan, and that goes for you too, Shuyin! If we screw this up we may not get a second chance, got it?" Both of the other men nodded silently. "Good. Damn it, Lusniec! You're getting blood all over the carpet! Go get changed or something!"

**888**

"Macalania woods." Matt said as the Celsius took off. Even with a hangover as big as the one he had he couldn't help but wince at the memories. It'd been in there that a sphere morph had sent an icicle right through his shoulder, which he now found himself rubbing absently.

"You ok?" Sakura asked after tapping on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just some… painful memories." Matt said as the group made their way into the woods. After a few minutes they came across a man in a crazy outfit and carrying a harp.

"The woods will soon be no more." The man said sadly before walking away while playing his harp.

"Because the Fayth are gone not only did it affect the temple, but the forest too." Yuna said sadly. "Without their power it seems like it's dieing."

"That's not cool at all." Ryan muttered under his breath as they walked farther into the oppressive gloom.

"The end has come faster then I thought." A fat man with a pair of drums and another odd outfit said dejectedly when they approached him. "What can we do? I'll be there in two shakes." And with that the odd man ran off into the woods.

"This is getting really weird…" Sakura whispered to Matt.

"Yeah, Spira does have a tendency to seem that way when you compare it to Earth." Matt admitted. "But that's just 'cause you aren't used to it. Don't worry, give it time and Spira'll grow on you."

"If you say so…" Sakura mumbled disbelievingly.

"Oh me, oh my, what did you say? Don't move an inch," the odd little creature said excitedly. "I'm on my way!" It started to walk away but stopped and said, "These woods grow lonely day by day," before running off.

"Ok, that was weird even for Spira." Matt whispered to Sakura as they came across an old acquaintance. "Well if it isn't Tromell."

"Oh High Summoner Yuna! Forgive me for the grief I have caused you." The once proud Guado begged.

"How've you been, Tromell?" Yuna asked.

"Well…" Tromell hesitated before saying, "With Lord Seymour gone, we Guado are hardly different from the dead." He sighed deeply. "Many Ronso lost their lives at the hands of Lord Seymour. Those who survived have sworn vengeance for their fallen comrades. We Guado sealed ourselves away in Guadosalam and strengthened our defenses… but soon we no longer had the strength even for this. Now, we live in among the shadows of these woods."

"But not all the Ronso dislike them! The Guado I mean!" Sakura clarified when everyone gave her a confused look. "It's true! I heard Kimahri-sama telling the little Ronso that it was the clan elder's fault, and that the rest of your tribe was just following orders!"

"I thank you for your kind words, but do not trouble yourself trying to show sympathy for the Guado. We once walked willingly with Lord Seymour, never questioning, even as he led all Spira into madness. I cannot ask that you forgive us… only that you forget us."

"Tromell…" Yuna whispered in as sad a tone as she'd used since Matt had been back in Spira.

"Ah, well, what brings the High Summoner to these woods?" Tromell asked, seemingly forgetting about the entire, depressing conversation he'd just taken part in.

"Well, I'm a Sphere Hunter now." Yuna told him happily.

"Hm. A Sphere Hunter?" Tromell repeated.

"We hunt spheres." Rikku clarified.

"Thank you for yet another obvious comment, Ms. Obvious." Nick muttered, only to receive another blow that numbed his arm instantly from Ryan.

"You don't say…" Tromell said with a somewhat forced smile. "Well then, please allow me to give you this. It is of no use to us." He reached into his robes and pulled out a sphere.

"Score!" Rikku shouted excitedly as Yuna took the sphere.

"Thank you!" Yuna said as she put the sphere away.

"Well, I suppose I should go back to my rounds. I've taken to the habit of checking up on the rest of the Guado constantly." Tromell bowed and walked into the shadows on the other side of the tree.

"Well now where to?" Sakura asked. "Anywhere in particular?"

"Well, there's a travel agency on the other side of the forest. We could head there, and if we can't make it by tomorrow, we can always camp out. Wouldn't be the first time." Ryan added with a slight smile.

"To Rin's travel agency then?" Matt was already heading down the path as he asked.

**888**

"Frana ec ra (Where is he)?" An Al Bhed shouted as the group came within view of the travel agency.

"O'aka, kad uid rana (O'aka get out here)!" Another Al Bhed shouted suddenly.

A woman stepped forward and shouted, "Lusa uid! Nacicdyhla ec videma (Come out! Resistance is futile)!"

"Wonder what the little merchant got himself into this time." Rikku wondered aloud before something bumped into her foot.

"Shhh!" O'aka hissed desperately. "Do O'aka a favor and pretend ye never saw him!" He pleaded before he backed back into the shadows and sprinted into the woods with surprising speed.

"Aren't you the fastest man in the world?" Paine asked as she nudged Ryan in the ribs.

"Yeah, why?" He replied.

"Go catch him." Paine ordered.

"Not yet." Ryan said with a smile. "He needs a head start. He can't run for very long."

"Well then enjoy waiting here. I'm going to find out what the heck he's gotten himself into." Matt said as he started off towards the forest, everyone else close behind.

"Alright, alright! I get it!" Ryan shouted, easily catching up with them.

"O'aka the XXIII! Where are you?" Rikku shouted into the seemingly empty forest.

"You didn't really think that would work, did you?" Matt asked as he turned his hat around. "Ok boys, spread out. Thirty foot spread, you know the drill. We're looking for a fat merchant." Ryan and Nick dropped everything but their weapons and did what Matt said, almost becoming part of the shadows of the forest. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a three man cell to lead."

"Wha?" Rikku voiced the question on all the rest of their minds. "What did I miss? Three man cell?"

"I think they've been working on more then just fighting." Yuna said with a giggle.

**888**

"Anything, guys?" Nick whispered the question as he made his way through the bush with slow and steady progress.

"_Nothing._" Ryan's voice came over the head set so quietly that Nick had to strain to hear it over his own heart beating. He glanced to the right, trying to catch some sign of movement. Despite being only thirty feet away from Matt he didn't see the slightest sign of movement except for the wind rustling the leaves.

"_Same here._" Matt whispered over the headset. "_How about you, Nick_"

"Nothin…" Nick stopped and squinted. "Bingo. Fat Merchant just ran into a clearing. What next biatch?"

"_Get in touch with the girls, they should be on two._" Ryan whispered.

"_Yeah, and then hang tight until we give you the order. Ryan, circle around and take up a position across from Nick. Then hang back when we go in. If he tries to use the trees to escape, stop him._" Matt barely made any sound as he made his way to the in-between point so he could monitor both Nick and Ryan.

"_Already there._" Ryan said.

"Y, R, P, S, you four there?" Nick whispered.

"_Nick-kun, what's up? Find him?_" Sakura asked in a whispered.

"Yeah. A clearing about half a mile a head. It's got a Guado in it. Switch to frequency one and play in between, Sakura-chan." Nick finished. "Makes life a lot easier on all ends."

"_See you on frequency one then._" Sakura whispered. "_Ok, who all's here?_"

"_Hey, Sakura-chan._" Ryan whispered.

"_Keep the channel clear people._" Matt hissed. "_Sakura-chan, can you four get into the clearing? Figure if he runs, then no matter what way he goes we'll have him covered if Ryan's not the only one playing safety._"

"_If you say so, Matt-kun. We'll be there in a few minutes._" Sakura agreed.

"_Hey, I'm not alone for a change. Yay._" Ryan muttered dryly.

"Everyone be warned, he just climbed up a tree. Stay sharp everyone." Nick whispered into the headset.

"_Got it, thanks for the warning Nick-kun._" Sakura said.

"My, I certainly have a lot of visitors today, don't I?" The Guado asked as Yuna, Rikku, Paine, and Sakura walked into the clearing. As if he'd just told a secret he wasn't allowed to his face went slightly pale and he said, "Oh, dear. I don't think I was supposed to say that. I was supposed to say 'don't walk over there'."

Before anyone could ask why, O'aka launched himself out of the tree, rolled to his feet and started to run.

"O'aka, wait!" Rikku yelled as Matt dropped out of a tree right in front of the merchant.

"Sorry, construction ahead, please find a detour." He said light heartedly. Frowning the merchant whirled around and found himself looking Ryan in the face.

"Yo, O'aka. Been awhile." The angel commented cheerfully.

The merchant let out a great, good-natured laugh before saying, "It looks like ye finally caught up with me. O'aka at your service!"

"So… What trouble are you in this time?" Rikku asked with a smile.

"Well, I bought the travel agency from Mr. Rin, but then the temple nearby sank to the bottom of the lake. And business sank with it." O'aka let out an exhausted sigh. "Just my luck. Now the Al Bhed have come to collect, and they're not in the mood for excuses." O'aka's eyes lit up suddenly, "Think ye old O'aka a place to lay low? Hmm? For a while? I'll find a way to make it up to ye, I promise!"

"What do you think?" Yuna asked the group. "Sounds like he's in trouble."

"What about the Celsius?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah!" Rikku agreed eagerly.

"Oh, thank ye!" O'aka cried with relief. "Ye won't regret it, I promise!"

**888**

"Bevelle… not sure how I feel about this place." Ryan muttered as the Gullwings walked off the Celsius and into the heart of Spira.

"L-Lady Yuna?" A woman asked suddenly. "Please, this way!"

"What the hell?" Matt wondered aloud as he watched the woman run off.

"I say we follow her." Nick said, already walking in the direction the woman was.

"Why's that, Nick?" Yuna asked.

Nick shrugged, "Just a gut feeling." He said cryptically.

"Oh, the High Summoner!" A man shouted with joy when they reached the main entrance to a temple. "I see you've finally decided to join New Yevon! You do us much honor, my Lady. Lord Braska- may he rest in peace- would be proud. I will summon the praetor immediately. I beg your leave."

"He was rather pushy." Sakura pointed out when she was sure the man was out of ear shot. "So… Yevon _was _a religion, right?"

"Yeah!" Rikku said happily. "But it was wrong! They persecuted anyone that went against the teachings at all, and the leaders were all dead guys! And, on top of all that, the guy that killed all the Guado, _Seymour_," Rikku practically spat the name out, "was a Maester of Yevon, one of the five leaders of Spira. But we ended up having kill him."

"So this is… New Yevon? What's different about it?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Instead of being run by one Grand Maester and four Maesters," Yuna started, "it's run by mutual consensus. _Everyone _gets a say now. Or so the rumors say." She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "We should leave."

"Hey! What's the matter, Yunie?" Rikku asked.

"Well, you see, there was this arrangement… with the son of the chairman of New Yevon. I turned the offer down, but I thought it'd be kind of awkward."

"Arrangement?" Matt repeated slowly. "What _kind _of arrangement?"

Before Yuna could answer the door to the room opened and a man with white hair and fancy clothes walked in and performed the Yevon bow. Again, Matt saw a flicker of familiarity on Paine's face, and remembered that he'd never asked her about how she knew Gippal. "A pleasure, Lady Yuna. I'm Baralai, Praetor of New Yevon."

"So you're the chairman's son?" Rikku asked curiously.

"Ah." Baralai said simply. "As it happens, the chairman has recently resigned. As did his son, the Praetor. They were trying to take too much power. We had to ask them to leave. Now the younger members run the party- by mutual consensus, of course."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Yuna said in a tone that was more then slightly relieved.

"So you see, Lady Yuna…" Baralai cast Paine a glance for a fraction of a second, just long enough for Ryan and Matt to share an observant glance of their own, "it is not I that was meant to marry the High Summoner. Not that we would not appreciate your support. On the contrary, you'd be most welcome. I understand if your feelings toward Yevon are mixed. But I would hope that you could put that aside and join our cause. The world is changing, and there many who are finding it difficult to keep up. New Yevon wishes to help those who feel lost in the winds of change. If you'll excuse me, there are matters which require my attention. Oh, and should you come across any spheres of Spira's past, please do let us know." He performed his bow again. And departed with only a, "My Lady" As a goodbye.

"Oohh, so what do you think?" Rikku asked as they started walking back to the airship.

"Wh-what? Paine?" Yuna asked.

"I think we've heard enough. Back to the airship." Paine stated.

"So where to now?" Matt asked when they were on board again.

"Well we're right by the calm lands." Rikku put in.

"Oh boy. Hope you two like lots of grass!" Ryan said with good-hearted slaps to Sakura and Nick's backs.

"But all that's at the calm lands are those games." Yuna countered. "It's really sad."

"We could always check in on Kimahri then." Rikku pointed out. "It's been a while since we last saw him."

"That's a great idea!" Yuna agreed. "Brother! To Gagazet!"

"Right!" Brother replied excitedly.

**888**

"Kimahri!" Yuna shouted when the small Ronso came into view.

"Yuna look well. Kimahri glad." Kimahri replied as they got closer.

"How you been, Kimahri?" Rikku asked excitedly. "What's it like being an elder?"

"Elder's job difficult." Kimahri said with a sad tone. "Kimahri troubled."

"Elder!" another Ronso yelled. As he walked into view Ryan and Matt scowled immediately, their attitudes changing so quickly that Baby jumped off Ryan's shoulder and looked him over from a confused Rikku's shoulder.

"Garik." Matt said so grimly that the Ronso stopped where he was and continued the conversation from a safer distance.

"Lian and Ayde not here! Children have left mountain! Gone to search for elder's horn!" Garik declared.

"Wha!" Sakura cried in surprise. "Lian and Ayde aren't on Gagazet anymore?"

"Lian and Ayde still pups, but bear Ronso future." Kimahri explained. "Say they search for way to fix Kimahri's broken horn."

"If Kimahri act like true elder, these things not happen!" Garik accused angrily.

"Maybe so…" Kimahri admitted.

Garik turned to walk away but stopped and turned his head to face Yuna. "High Summoner Yuna, it is Garik's honor." He glared at Ryan and Matt and let out a feral growl.

"Nice to meet you." Yuna said politely.

"Garik know Yuna save Spira," Garik added without taking his gaze off of Ryan and Matt, "but Ronso not saved yet."

"We'll find Lian and Ayde, kitty cat." Matt replied instantly. Garik let out another growl before walking away.

"Kimahri worried about Lian and Ayde." Kimahri said sadly. "But Kimahri cannot leave mountain. If Yuna find Lian and Ayde, bring them back to Gagazet."

"No problem Lil' Boy Blue." Matt switched back to his usual tone. "We'll bring'em back."

"Kimahri thank friends." Kimahri bowed his head slightly. "Kimahri have many problems within tribe. Many want to kill Guado. Kimahri try to stop, but hard without Ryan and Matt."

"What's that mean?" Rikku asked.

"Ryan and Matt help Kimahri keep younger Ronso in check. Help keep them from killing Guado." Kimahri explained.

"What's he talking about?" Nick asked. "When did you help keep the younger Ronso in check?"

"Well, it was usually during the night. The ones that survived Seymour's attack started planning war meetings and stuff. We showed them that they weren't as secret as they thought." Ryan clarified with a helpless shrug. "We weren't going to say 'no' to Lil' Boy Blue. Especially when he needed help."

"That's so like you." Rikku said with a helpless shake of her head.

* * *

well there it is everyone. hope you enjoyed (i worked from 5:30-ish AM to 6-ish pm, and then 8-ish pm to midnight, and then 5:30 Am today until now to finish it, so you better enjoy it!) anyway, read, review, and don't do nothing too stupid without me! till next time! 


	6. Kilika

i'm back! this chapter spands a whole... three days in the story, maybe? hopefully people won't think this one's too close to the actual story line like they did with the last one. now to the reviews!

Auron's Fan- yes, paine tried to kill baby. even if it _was _a natural reflex. yes, everyone got drunk. i think i might have that happen again, and actually describe how everyone acts when they're drunk. as for kitty and the teen titians, i didn't even know there _was _a kitty on teen titians. and as of now, no, nobody can beat the gods. we'll see how long that lasts tho... and yevon's a stuck up bastard, of _course _he cares if there's blood on his carpet! and shuyin joined that little 'alliance of hate' for his own reasons... so don't feel bad for him!

Da KeR MysTeRr- oh, so you do have basically the same problem i do. good, i thought it was just me. i'm glad your bruise is almost gone, but try not to get thrown in jail. and your mom's right, similar personalities do tend to clash. yeah, i know you convinced colleen to read, she reviewed! as for how quickly i beat jecht and yu yevon... i played 10 as much then as i write my story now. it was my life. and i don't mind training. i'm just... odd that way. i'm glad you're so happy when i update, lets me know that i'm not just working for nothin...anyway, until next time, toodles!Anasazi

DarkmoonAnasazi Darkmoon- well, you'll have to read to find that out. as for lusniec, he's probably slept with an uncle here or there, so iguess both actually work. yeah, i agree that yuna was too perfect. she had to have a problem. and, what with tidus being gone for two years, and the depression it causes, and the fact that she's the high summoner and can probably do just about anything she wants without getting in trouble... drinking seemed to work. is auron going to bring tidus back to spira to help everyone? well, i'll give you my reflexive answer: you'll have to read and find out. and, yes, my muse really DID hit me over the head with an inspiration stick... it left a lump, too --.

Plum-chan- yeah, go yuna, she learned to hold her liquor! i should've put how many bottles she drank in this one... damn. anyway, i make lots of gramatical errors, or a few more then usual? anyway, i will keep it up! wow... found a second e-mail from you. did i miss you last time! i'm sorry... ok, then on to the second e-mail. yeah, seph knows about them, i'm not going to say why 'cause it'll ruin something in the, probably very near, future. as for the plot, yeah, last chapter sucked. i'll never do that again, i swear --.

Sephirothxx- YES I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO! and damn you covel. delaying my reviewers... (grumbles about needing a new attack to use on review delayers). anyway, yes, the fight between them was short, get over it. yes, yuna seems like she'd be really funny when she's drunk, so i went with it. and good, i made sure to try to do that! making my conversations easier to read that is. and do NOT lecture me on GRAMAR! i don't like it to begin with! anyay, enjoy the chapter!

CeE CrOw- hey, your name's written just like Da KeR MysTeRr's name is! anyway, she MADE YOU stay and read and review my story? wow... didn't know she was giong to go THAT far. yeah, lots o people say i'm a great writer. as for the touch the butterflies thing, we will NOT be running around touching butterflies. seems too... stupid, really. hi Da KeR MysTeRr! and, CeE CrOw, i'm glad you like my writing! it's nice to have a new reviewer from time to time.

* * *

Kilika 

"A tourist attraction." Paine spat as they walked towards the Zanarkand ruins.

"Whose idea was this?" Rikku asked as she looked around in horror.

"Yuna?" Someone called out suddenly. "You've changed so much, I hardly recognized you." The man admitted when they were closer. "Remember me?"

"Of course I remember!" Yuna said happily. "It's good to see you, Issaru." The former Summoner let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm honored that you'd remember me." He said sheepishly.

Yuna looked him over for a second before asking, "Why are you here?"

The question caused Issaru to stand a little straighter, "Ah, yes. I've been helping Cid with his work." At the mention of the Al Bhed leader's name all the Gullwings turned and looked at Rikku who held her hands up defensively.

"Don't look at me." Was all she could think of to say.

"I guide people through Zanarkand, once the most sacred of places." Issaru said proudly. "People come from all over Spira. Sphere Hunters too."

"Ugh! What is pops thinking!" Rikku shouted out of annoyance.

Issaru frowned. "I can see this upsetting you. But this is a place of great historical importance for all of Spira." He reminded her.

"So you turned it into an amusement park?" Ryan asked questioningly. "Am I the only one sensing a sudden drop in personal morals?"

"I know." Yuna said before Issaru could reply. The statement sent a pained look across his face until she continued, "But still… I never wanted anyone else to stand there."

"Yuna?" Issaru asked after looking at the spot that he was standing in, clearly not understanding.

"Come on, fly boy. Get down here." Matt grabbed Issaru by the collar of his robes and lifted him off the ground with one hand. "Now I know why Maroda didn't want to talk about you."

"Yuna?" Issaru asked again.

"Nothing. Forget it." The high Summoner said, barely hiding a smile as Matt put Issaru down on their level.

"If you say so." Issaru said helplessly. "Ah, I must be getting back to work now. Please, take care, Yuna." He bowed to the pistol wielding woman and left.

"Thanks, Matt." Yuna whispered as they started towards the Zanarkand dome.

"Don't mention it. After what he did in the maze of sorrow, trying to kill us and all, it was nice to shake him up a little." The god grinned suddenly. "Hey! Pacce!"

The kid and his two friends looked up. "Taro, Hana, you ready?" He asked his friends, turning to each of them as he said their name.

"Um… what was the clue again?" Taro asked shyly.

"Come on!" Hana cried out in frustrated. "It's 'Key'!"

"All right, let's head up!" Pacce said quickly as the Gullwings picked up their pace to meet up with them.

"You think he's ignoring us?" Nick asked sarcastically.

"Hmmm… could be, Nick-Kun." Sakura replied with a roll of her eyes as they walked into the giant dome that had once been a blitzball stadium. "How observant of you."

"Which way?" Taro called out in a panicked voice.

"That way!" Pacce yelled as pointed in front of him.

"Yes!" Hana agreed while running to keep up with them.

"Pacce!" Matt yelled again. This time the kid stopped and turned around slowly. He walked up to them and looked them over before smiling.

"I guess even Lady Yuna remembers me!" He said happily before adding in a whisper, "that is you, right Lady Yuna?"

Yuna giggled and nodded her head. "Yeah, it's me."

"See!" Pacce said proudly as he turned to his friends. "I _told _you that I knew Lady Yuna!" Yuna giggled again, this time joined by Rikku and Sakura. "Anyway, this is Hana, and this is Taro."

"Nice to meet you, Lady Yuna." Taro said quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Yuna asked gently. "There are fiends around!"

"Fiends?" Hana asked with a snort. "Ha!"

"Uh-huh." Pacce agreed. "That's right! We're Sphere Hunters!"

"The Kinderguardians I think Maroda-san said…" Sakura said absently.

"That's right!" Hana said proudly.

"You here on some kind of treasure hunt?" Rikku asked.

"So 'key' must be a clue to finding the treasure." Yuna concluded.

"Uh-huh. That's right." Pacce agreed quickly.

"Shhhhh! We paid fifteen whole Gil for that!" Hana hissed. "Let's go!"

"Kinderguardians move out!" Pacce shouted before leading his friends away.

"Fifteen Gil for a clue?" Paine asked questioningly as they moved on.

"It's a tourist trap." Ryan muttered sadly. "And is that guy actually walking around in a helmet and green spandex?" He nodded to a pile of rubble above them where a guy was fiddling with a headset.

"Yeah…" Nick muttered quietly.

"Come in. Come in." The man said into the headset. "Do you read?" he waited for a second before continuing. "Oh, hey. I wanted to double-check that clue. It's 'mon,' right?" Another brief pause. "'Nah, it's just that I heard some kids saying that it was 'key.' Yeah, I figured it was 'mon.' Over and out."

"The clues are 'key' and 'mon'?" Paine asked questioningly.

"Key-mon?" Yuna asked as a monkey came walking over to them.

"Monkey!" Rikku cried, reaching down and petting it on the head until Baby jumped on her shoulder and started to chastise her. "Okay, ok. Relax, Baby." Rikku said helplessly as she picked the squirrel up and started petting him.

"We won't let you get off so easily this time!" the guy with the helmet and spandex yelled when he noticed them.

"This coming from a full grown man wearing green spandex…" Matt muttered with a disbelieving shake of his head as two more appeared, along with snake looking robots that had min-gun barrels for heads. "Oh, we're going to be attacked by _three _full grown men wearing green spandex, and _two_ machina snakes with guns for heads." He rolled his eyes. "This day just keeps getting _better_."

"Yeah, don't think you've got the upper hand just because there are more of you then us!" One of the spandex men shouted.

"Ok, first off, you're facing three legendary guardians, the High Summoner, a Goth that seems to be as good with a sword as Sir Auron, and their two friends." Matt summed up. "Who are also, might I add, competent fighters. We don't _need _to have more numbers to beat you. Any of us could crush you on their own."

"Try it! Your dinky axe won't do anything to our machina!" The last spandex man shouted.

"Dinky?" Matt repeated with a laugh.

"Everyone, step back." Ryan and Nick muttered at the same time, already stepping back themselves.

"Oh, you're going to regret _that_ comment." Matt said in a voice that held such finality that the spandex men shivered. "So why don't all three of you come down here and see just how much of an advantage you have since it's three on one."

"You're an idiot! There are five of us here!" The middle spandex man motioned to the two machina and, as if it had been a cue he hadn't been told about, the machina exploded. "What!"

"Guess you don't know who you're dealing with." Matt said with deceptive calm. "Let me tell you. My name is," a bolt of lightning knocked the one farthest to the right off the rubble, "Matt. As in the god of thunder, Matt." The same bolt of lighting arced off the unconscious guy's body and slammed into the middle guy, knocking him out as well. "And as for my _dinky axe_, I wouldn't use it against _scum _like you anyway." The bolt slammed into the last guy and disappeared.

"Hey… you didn't deep fry them." Ryan muttered with a little amazement evident in his voice. "And before you try to, don't." he added when he saw Matt's ice cold smile.

"Fine, fine." He muttered sadly as they walked into the room where Seph'd joined them.

"Um, the clue is monkey, right?" Rikku asked as she looked at the monkey sitting on the floor. "Just a coincidence?"

"Probably not." Ryan said as they walked onto the elevator.

"Welcome!" Cid shouted when the elevator stopped. "Well, I'll be. If it isn't Yuna! Come to buy a clue from Uncle Cid, have you?" The bald man asked cheerfully.

"Fryd yna oui drehgenk (What are you thinking)!" Rikku shouted before anyone could say anything. Cid stared at her, his gaze a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Turning this place into a gift shop? Hello!"

"What," Cid demanded, "you got a bone to pick? And who the heck are all these people? You didn't tell me you were recruiting new members."

"Rao, Cid. Ed'c paah y frema. Dfu oaync (Hey, Cid. It's been a while. Two years)." Ryan said calmly. "Ur, yht dra lmia ec monkey (Oh, and the clue is monkey)." Ryan added as an after thought.

"Ryan? That you boy?" Ryan nodded his head and smiled. "That means you must be Matt!" Cid said as he embraced the two in a giant bear hug.

"Nice to see you too, baldylocks." Matt said when Cid let go.

"That was uncalled for." Cid said flatly.

"Well so was turning Zanarkand into a theme park." Matt countered quickly. "What'd you do if we did that to HOME's ruins?"

"Huh?" Cid shook his head and closed his eyes for a minute before nodding. "I see your point." He said before riding the lift back up.

"Dryd fyc lumt, Matt (That was cold, Matt)." Nick pointed out as he watched Cid go.

"Wha! You speak Al Bhed?" Rikku cried in surprise.

"Yeah, well. These two," he motioned to Matt and Ryan who just snickered, "only used Al Bhed when we were killing fiends. Kept the government guys from knowing what we were going to do. Made life hell for them. I just kind of picked it up." He shrugged.

"Wow." Yuna said quietly. "I've been with the Gullwings for almost two years now and I haven't picked up that much."

"Ah, well they constantly used it. We were always hunting fiends. And even when we weren't, they'd use it just to piss me off." Nick added as they walked into Yunalesca's chamber.

"Wow…" Sakura whispered as she turned to take in the ruins of the once great room. "Who lived here?"

"Yunalesca." Matt said instantly. "The so called 'Reaper of Souls' wasn't everything I expected her to be."

"Two years ago we cast off our beliefs here." Yuna said with a sad smile. "Our false hopes."

A fake sounding maniacal laughter filled room suddenly. "Who's there?" Rikku demanded when it ended.

"You've done well to make it this far, Sphere Hunters," a voice said from all direction. "But you will not have the treasure you seek so easily."

"So we have to fight you, Mystery-man-san?" Sakura asked, already twirling her Tonfas.

"If you want the treasure, you must speak the password" The voice shouted.

"Password?" Paine asked.

"The clues?" Yuna suggested uncertainly.

"Oh, I know!" Rikku shouted. "The password is Monkey!"

There was a high-pitched whine that lasted for a second before the voice said, "Uh… yes, good. Uh, okay! So now tell me: What is the meaning of life?"

"That's easy!" Ryan shouted. "The meaning of life is to stop hiding behind speakers and microphones, first off; to not blow it by getting too close to a speaker if you're going to, second off; and show yourself before Matt tears the whole place to the ground, Issaru!"

"Is that your final answer?" The voice asked nervously. A speaker exploded somewhere beneath them and someone shouted in surprise.

"The jig is up! Show yourself, Issaru!" Rikku ordered.

"Uh… fine." Issaru came walking up a flight of stairs on the far side of the room, the left side of his robes burnt slightly.

"Um, what are you doing?" Yuna asked as politely as she could.

"My job." Issaru said simply. "I bring excitement to those who come to visit this sacred place. I, too, once traveled with hopes of seeing this place someday. Working here somehow fulfills that wish." Issaru finished with a helpless shrug.

"I see." Yuna said quietly.

"I must apologize for the quiz. It's part of my job. And nobody's gotten the password right so far, so please don't tell anyone. Or about the speakers. Speaking of which," Issaru turned to face Ryan, "How'd you know that I was using speakers? Or that it was me for that matter."

"Well, I just guessed that it was you doing your job. As for the speakers," He smiled slightly, "I've worked with microphones and speakers before. Even if it's only for a fraction of a second, I can definitely tell that sound from just about anything else. You just got too close to one of the speakers. Be more careful next time."

"I see. Thank you for the advice, but now I must take my leave." Issaru bowed and went back down the stairs. The group heard a door open and then close, followed by the sound of bolts locking into place.

"Ex-Summoners come in all flavors." Paine muttered.

"Apparently so." Yuna said with a giggle.

"We done here?" Rikku asked as she looked around.

"The sphere Oscillo-finder picked up a signal." Paine said. "There should still be a sphere nearby."

"Right." Rikku said, already moving towards the nearest pile of rubble.

"Okay, let's try this again." Paine ordered as the group spread out.

"Aha! Found you!" Rikku shouted from down below them after a few minutes. When she came springing back up the stairs she had a sphere in her hand, but she nearly dropped it when the ground started to shake.

"We're not alone." Paine pointed out as a giant fiend appeared.

"Rikku pointing out the obvious is enough." Matt said dryly. "You don't need to as well."

"Think we need a password?" Rikku asked almost hopefully.

"How about 'kick… its… ass'?" She asked.

"I like that password." Matt agreed before hurling his extra axe into the fiend's leg.

"I agree!" Nick said as he ran towards the wounded fiend. It slashed at him with a clawed hand but he jumped off the ground, landed on Matt's axe handle, and then jumped onto the thing's head. "Go to hell!" He whispered before shoving the spear point of his weapon completely through the fiend's skull. It jerked once and then lurched forward, nearly crushing the entire group.

"Great job, idiot." Paine stated when the dust cleared.

"Shove it." Nick replied as he pulled his weapon out with a sickening sound. "Ryan, lemme see that cloth thingy you use."

"Screw you." Ryan said. "You aren't touching that. I use that to clean the blood of my swords." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a bandana. "Well, I guess you can use this." He said with a shrug as Nick grabbed it and wiped his weapon down. "You can just… keep it." Ryan said when Nick offered it back.

"Gee, it must be my birthday." Nick muttered as he folded it so the brains were completely on the inside and put it in his pocket.

"Not fair!" Rikku shouted. "It's only half a sphere!"

"You mean I risked _my life _for something that's utterly useless?" Nick asked in disbelief.

Matt patted him on the back and happily said, "Yep."

"That's bull crap!" Nick shouted.

"Yep." Ryan agreed. "But I suppose that explains why the fiend was so weak. Half a sphere, half as valuable, half as likely to be taken, half the protection need. Makes sense to me."

"A _lot _of things make sense to you, including the crap that shouldn't." Nick pointed out. "Hell, when you right a private note to yourself you do it in Anglo-Saxon runes!"

"Yes, I had no life other then killing fiends, you're point being? Besides, I knew those two years ago, it's how we got the legendary weapons." Ryan pointed out, Rikku and Yuna nodding. "Speaking of which, where _are _Nirvana and Godhand?"

"Nirvana's at Lulu and Wakka's place, just to make sure nothing happens to it while I'm not there." Yuna said.

"And Godhand's in my room on the Celsius." Rikku stated.

**888**

"Seph, how're you holding up?" JT asked when he walked into the room Rin had put the former assassin in after JT had managed to get him into the main part of the agency.

"I've got a cut in me that's three inches long and goes completely through me, how the hell do you think I'm doing?" Seph asked bluntly.

"Well, you're a god, how the hell am I supposed to know." JT countered.

"Yeah, a god, right. Starting to wonder if that's true." Seph muttered as he sat up slowly. "It really figures this would happen on the white mage's _one _day off this week."

"Yeah, it does." A woman muttered as she threw the door open. "Ok, shut up and hold still. I had to break a date off early because of this, but if I hurry I might still be able to catch back up with him." She shoved JT out of the way, literally slapped a hand onto Seph's wound pressed slightly.

"Oh, dear gods, what the hell are you doing!" Seph cried out.

"Shut up." Healing magic pulsed through her hand and the pain subsided a little bit, but not much. "There, now move, I've got a date to catch back up with." And with that the woman sprinted out the door.

"Geez!" Seph muttered through clenched teeth.

JT just stared at his friend. "You ok?"

"No." Seph growled. "Damn it."

"What's wrong? Didn't she heal you?" JT asked frantically.

"Oh, she healed me. But she didn't numb the pain, stupid bitch." Seph started to take long, deep breathes.

"Let's see… rude… doesn't do her job fully when someone right in front of her is dying from loss of blood, and in immense pain…" He stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, wait. Since when does getting run through hurt you this badly?"

Seph opened one eye. "I dunno. Maybe it's 'cause of Lusniec's sword?"

"What'd you mean?" JT asked, suddenly intrigued.

"He's Lusniec. Sure, he was famous for what he did with Wind Cutter, the sword he lost to Ryan, but who says he can't have other swords too?" Seph frowned, suddenly remembering the battle between the two on Gagazet. "But Ryan broke Demon Edge before two years ago. It was a sword that _couldn't _get split in half by the legendary weapons, or even Wind Cutter, Lusniec's old sword."

"So what? It's a good sword, big deal." JT said with a shrug.

"Only gods can make swords that strong, JT." Seph said in a deathly grim voice. "Vena, Dnortih, Zedih, and Usi were moving against Lusniec, so they wouldn't reforge his sword for him."

"So that would leave nobody, right? I mean, you killed Sin, and Yu Yevon, so there aren't any gods left." JT pointed out.

"A god forged that sword, JT. There were only two gods that _would _reforge it for Lusniec. Sin, who Yuna sent, and Yu Yevon who we killed." Seph sighed and rubbed his face. He was getting a headache from all this business on top of the pain he felt from his sword wound. "I need to talk to Matt and Ryan."

"And where are they?" JT asked, pointing out the flaw in Seph's plan. "Spira's huge. Sure, the Gullwings are popular with the people, but do you have any idea where they are?"

"_They will be in Kilika in three days._" A bored voice said in a hushed whisper. "_Would you like to be there, waiting for them?_"

"What the hell?" JT cried out as he stumbled backwards. Noticing that Seph was trying to contain his laughter JT stood up to his full height, his face red with embarrassment, and glared at the assassin. "Who the _fuck _is that?" he demanded.

"_So vulgar._" The voice stated in the same, bored, hushed whisper. "_Is he _always _so vulgar? I hardly felt it necessary to curse._"

"That" Seph asked with amusement. "That's Zedih, the _real _god of water." Seph's smile grew as he added, "The person who taught me everything I know about being an assassin."

"Oh…" JT replied numbly. "Ok."

Seph rolled his eyes as Zedih said, "_You didn't answer my question. Would you like to be there to meet them?_"

"Yes, please. Both of us." Seph laughed a little as JT collapsed into the only chair in the room and stared absently at the ceiling. "JT," The boy looked at Seph, still shocked at who he'd been introduced to, "You might want to hold your breath." Before JT could ask why a ball of water engulfed each of them, and JT found himself being bounced around like a ping sphere.

**888**

"We're getting reports of an _awesome sphere_? Looks it's drawing quite a crowd." Buddy added as he scanned through the information flooding his terminal's monitor. "The reports are coming from Kilika Woods."

"I want that sphere." Yuna said in a determined voice.

"It's as good as ours!" Rikku declared. "Let's scramble!"

Brother hopped out of the pilot's seat and faced his sister in an attempt to intimidate her. Rikku barely kept her amusement in line when he said, "Who is the leader? I am! I give the orders around here!"

"We're listening." Paine pointed out when he didn't say anything after that.

Brother closed his eyes and considered the situation for several second. He nodded to himself, opened his eyes and turned so he could better address the rest of the Gullwings. "Let's go! Party! Party!" He shouted happily.

"It'll take three days to get there, Brother." Shinra, the Al Bhed whiz kid, pointed out, much to Brother's dismay. The leader walked away back to his chair while muttering about not getting to see a dancing Yuna while Shinra motioned Matt and Ryan to come over to him. "Can I see your weapons?" He asked as he pulled out a scanner.

"Why?" Matt questioned as he held out Lightning Edge. Shinra's scanner moved over the legendary axe and data scrolled up on the screen, followed by a big flashing letters, "HU SYDLR VUIHT" in several different boxes. "No match found? What's that all about?"

"Hold on a second." Shinra repeated the process with Wind Cutter and Shinagami, each one of the swords getting the same result. "I thought so."

"Care to explain what's going on?" Matt asked as he looked at the fast scrolling Al Bhed words that his eyes could barely separate. "And, how the hell you can read it when it's going so quickly? Its pretty much one big blur." He glanced over at Ryan who was also looking at the screen, although he was smiling slightly. "Damn Hiten Mitsurugi Style."

"Gotta love it, even if I don't have the slightest clue what the hell any of that means. It's all just zeros and ones." Ryan muttered before turning to Shinra. "So, what _does _'NO MATCH FOUND' mean?"

"I scanned the metal your weapons were made out of." Shinra said without slowing his typing in the least. "After Rikku joined the Gullwings I scanned Godhand for secret compartments or abilities, just in case we needed them. What I found was it was made of a super dense metal, one that shouldn't exist but does. And, even if it did exist, it wouldn't be possible to form it in Spira."

"Why's that?" Matt questioned when the whiz kid stopped.

"Because it's been infused with pyreflies. The only place any of your weapons could have come from is the Farplane." Shinra said simply. "At least, I think."

"You think?" Matt repeated. "This isn't the kind of thing to be unsure about, whiz kid."

"I'm only a kid." Shinra countered, promptly ignoring the rest of their questions until they left.

"Wonderful. More questions." Matt muttered as the two walked away.

**888**

"If we ever travel like that again," JT said as the ball of water that had been transporting him to Kilika disappeared and revealed that they were standing in Kilika Woods, "I'm going to hurt you."

"Why's that?" Seph asked as JT lost his lunch on the nearest tree. "Didn't bother me at all."

"Screw you." JT muttered when all of his lunch was lying on the ground in front of him. "So where do we go now?"

Seph slowly turned in a circle before he started to walk off, wincing as he did so. He glanced down and scowled. His wound had reopened during the bumpy ride, making it even more important that he found a competent white mage. "The Kilika Temple should be up here. Two years ago I had a pretty good relationship going with the temples. When we killed Yu Yevon, Yuna insisted that I let her say that I was one of her guardians. I didn't really care, killing Sin was my retirement, so I didn't see any reason to say no. Because of that, I get as much respect as Auron did, but only from the people who recognize me."

"Wow, as much as Sir Auron?" JT asked with a little bit of awe in his voice. "Judging from how nobody ever stops you on the streets I never would have guessed."

"Yeah, well. I didn't team up with Yuna's group until the Zanarkand Ruins, and I wasn't at the speech Yuna gave, so not a lot of people knew I even helped." Seph shrugged as they walked out into a clearing. Following the trail up Seph and JT found themselves staring down the wrong end of a pair of riffles.

"Sir Seph?" Someone in priest robes shouted from farther above them. "Sir Seph, it _is _you! I'm so glad you came back for a visit!" The priest, a guy that was rather large around the middle, finally noticed the riffles and scowled at the guards. "Put those away, you fools! Don't you know a legend when you see one?"

"Sir!" The guards shouted in unison, shouldering their riffles with ease born of hours of boredom fought off through self-created drills. "Sorry, Sir! We didn't recognize you. Please proceed."

"Wow, it pays to travel with you once and a while." JT muttered as all the guards snapped off crisp salutes as they passed.

"Feel awkward?" Seph asked when he noticed JT speeding up slightly.

"Yeah, well. Even growing up at Home I've never seen so many riffles in the same spot. Then again, had I been there for that attack I might have…" JT shrugged. "Anyway, why are we staying at the temple? There are more then enough inns at Kilika Port."

"Observant, aren't you?" Seph asked sarcastically. "Ok, fine. First, I want to get rid of this pain, and this temple has more then one white mage. Second, the beds in those inns are terrible. Third… this temple _had _some books that I want to check out."

"So you came here to read?" JT asked in disbelief.

"Sir Seph, do you refer to the books that you did not have a chance to finish reading two years ago?" The priest that had led them to the temple asked politely.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Is it still here?" Seph asked urgently.

The priest nodded. "It is, indeed, still here. In the same spot, in case you were wondering." Seph smiled.

"Well then, this'll be easy." He muttered to JT as the priest waved a white mage over. The woman rushed over and placed a hand against the red spot on his shirt.

"Sorry." She apologized weakly when he winced. She glanced back nervously at the priest who was glaring at her and quickly muttered a few words. Seph's muscles relaxed when the healing magic washed through him.

"Don't worry about it." Seph said with a small smiled on his face.

**888**

_"Just remember always that they are not the Fayth's dream alone. They are the dream of anyone who wish for their help…" High Summoner Braska's voice was muted and seemed like it was an echo that had traveled miles. Ryan's head whirled from side to side as a red haze slowly covered everything. A shadow moved towards him through the haze, saying something that Ryan heard as mumbles that were impossible to understand._

_'What's going on?' even Ryan's own thoughts were dull and seemed like they were coming to him over a great distance. He felt a hollow panic rising in his chest as the shadowy figure continued to walk towards him. "Lusniec?" the panic Ryan'd been feeling was replaced by a cold dread as Wind Cutter appeared in his hand. _

_"You can't win." Lusniec's voice was little more then a whisper despite the fact that he looked like he was shouting. "You've reached your limit. You'll never get any stronger then you are now."_

_Ryan shook his head as the dread increased. "That's not true." He whispered with as much conviction as he could. The words rang with more falseness than anything Ryan had ever heard in his life. Shinagami appeared in his hand and he stared at the weapons as a new feeling washed over him. Anger._

_"Your weakness will cause her to die." Ryan looked up and found Rikku standing in front of Lusniec. Tears streamed down her face as she said something but Ryan didn't hear it._

_"Let her go!" Ryan yelled as the haze thickened._

_"This is your fault." Rikku shouted, just before Lusniec's sword slipped through her back. Her green eyes glazed over as her body went limp and crumpled to the ground._

_"This is what happens when you aren't strong enough." Lusniec said with a smile of superiority. "This is what happens when you're a fraction of a second too late. When you're distracted for a split second. This," he motioned to Rikku's corpse, "is your fate."_

_Something inside of him screamed out in rage, and he found himself floating above Lusniec as the Ryan on the ground charged. Lusniec sidestepped the charged, spun around his back, and the head of the Ryan charging him fell to the ground with a sickening thud. With glee he drew a dagger, flashed a smile at the floating Ryan, and started to carve something into the corpses back._

**888**

Lusniec opened his eyes slowly and found Yevon pacing back and forth in front of him. "Well? Is it done?" Yevon demanded.

Lusniec nodded slowly. "Yeah, it's done."

"Good, that'll make life a lot easier." Yevon said with a relieved tone.

"You didn't think I'd be able to do it, did you?" Lusniec asked indifferently.

"I had my doubts." Yevon admitted with a sigh. "You said yourself that he'd reached his limit, that he was as good as he was going to get. And I haven't fought him recently. How was I supposed to know how powerful he was?"

"Fair enough." Lusniec admitted.

"So how long?" Yevon questioned after a short awkward silence. "Until he won't be able to use your powers anymore?"

"It should be by the time he reaches Kilika."

Yevon shook his head at his partner's answer. "And that'll be _when_?" he demanded.

"Not long. Midday at most." Lusniec smiled. "You seem awfully concerned with Ryan all of a sudden."

"I have my reasons." Was all Yevon said in reply.

**888**

Ryan opened his eyes and found his ceiling spinning at a sickening rate. His head pulsed painfully in rhythm with his heart, which was pounding fast enough that it hurt. He glanced around the room until he found the clock.

2 AM. 'Wonderful.' He thought with a sigh. He threw the light cover off and walked into the bathroom, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get back to bed. Not after a nightmare like that. He shook his head, vainly trying to get the horrible memories out of his head. He turned the light in the bathroom on and realized he'd forgotten what he'd come in for.

As the dullness sleep had left on his sense wore off he became aware that his back was hot. Very hot. And that heat was slowly spreading from the upper-middle part of his back, in-between his shoulder blades specifically, down. He touched his back gently. It felt like it was sun burnt. And it was wet. Out of instinct Ryan brought the hand in front of his face.

"Blood?" He asked numbly. He walked out of the bathroom and looked at the bed. On the sheets was a smudge spade, drawn in blood. "What the hell is going on?" Someone knocked on his door.

"Ryan, you awake?" Matt asked in a voice that was lined with weariness.

"Yeah." Ryan replied. "Come on in." The door slid open and Matt stepped in. "What's up?"

Matt gave him a tired smile. "Thunder. Can't sleep 'cause of it." He said with a laugh. Ryan raised an eyebrow and Matt shook his head. "Don't tell me you can't hear it."

"Then I won't." Ryan replied with a shrug as he pulled the sheets off his bed.

"Dude, what happened to your back?" Matt asked when Ryan turned to put the sheets in the wash-chute all the rooms had. "You're bleeding."

"Yeah, I know." Ryan said as he held up his hand for Matt to see.

"Why?" Matt asked.

"That I don't know." Ryan said with a shrug. "I was going to take a shower once I was done with these," He held up the sheets. "So what do you need?"

"Me? I was just wondering whether you were up." Matt said with a shrug.

"_You should go to Kilika._" Dnortih's voice called out to the two.

"What the hell? Dnortih?" Matt questioned the empty room.

"_The one and only._" The true thunder god replied. "_Now, as I was saying. You should go to Kilika. In the temple there is a book that holds many legends. Many _true _legends, though most believe them to be fake._"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing that we got that 'awesome sphere' lead." Ryan said as he placed a cloth under the faucet in the shower and turned it on as cold as it would go.

"_Yes, that 'awesome sphere'. I was wondering if it made it to you._" Dnortih muttered absently.

"You sent it?" Matt asked.

"_I had to make sure you went there. For some reason the Youth League decided not to give you that information, so I passed it along._" Dnortih stated. "_Ryan, are you ok? You seem a little pale…_"

Ryan's eyebrows shot up. "You can _see _me?" He asked in a confused voice as he turned the faucet off and wrung the cloth out till it was dry.

"_Well, yes, I can. I am a god._" Dnortih pointed out. "_Is it really that surprising?_"

"No, but it's more then a little unsettling." Ryan admitted as he put the cloth on his back. "Anyway, yeah, I'll be fine."

"_I doubt that, given the fact that you woke up with a spade carved into your back._" The digital read out on Ryan's clock went ballistic for a second, and then Dnortih appeared, startling both the teens. "_Take that cloth off and turn around. I can only stay here for a few moments, unlike Lusniec._" Ryan found himself removing the cloth, and turning around before he could say anything. Dnortih stepped forward and examined his back with a frown. "_Don't tell anyone about this scar, either of you._" He ordered when he was done. "_And Ryan, don't use any of your powers until either myself, or Matt gives you permission. Matt, you _can't _give him permission unless I say so, understood?_"

"Why? What's the big deal?" Ryan demanded as Dnortih's body slowly started to vanish, the digital clock on his wall once again going ballistic.

"_When you get to Kilika temple talk to either Seph or the head priest, whoever you find first. Ask to read the book of the gods, and read the section about Lusniec._" Dnortih, now completely gone, ordered. "_Ryan, I know I have no true authority over you. You don't _have _to do as I ask. But if you want to live long enough to understand what that symbol means, that I suggest that you do._"

"If you really think it'll help, why not." Ryan muttered in a hollow voice as he put the cloth back onto his back.

"Well, now that Dnortih seems to have said his fill," Matt grabbed a shirt off the dresser and threw it to Ryan, "I'll be on deck watching the storm. Come up if you want something." Ryan nodded and Matt walked out of the room with an uneasy feeling about the way Ryan had muttered his response to Dnortih. It'd been _too _empty. He shook the thought away as the elevator door opened and revealed the storm-ravaged deck.

He stepped out of the elevator, ignoring the ice-cold rain that pelted him, and took in a deep breath. A bolt of lightning flashed through the sky followed by the comforting sound of thunder, almost concealing the sound of the elevator hissing open. Something clattered across the deck and when he turned around he found his wooden axe at his feet. "What's that for?"

"Pick it up." Ryan said flatly.

"Why?" Matt demanded.

"I need you to pick that up." Ryan said, emphasizing the last three words.

"What's gotten into you?" Matt demanded, still not moving towards the axe. The hairs on the back of his neck each time Ryan said something, a clear sign that something was wrong. But what was it?

"Just pick up the fucking axe!" Ryan shouted, his voice cutting through the night as clearly as the thunder that followed. "Gods damn it, do you need a reason for _everything_?" He stomped across the deck until he was barely a foot away. "Last chance. Pick. Up. The. God. Damn. Axe."

"Give me a decent reason to." Matt replied, stepping back slightly. The dark night exploded into dazzling light as a wall of electricity burst into life just a hair's breath away from the right side of his neck. Before Matt had the chance to feel anything, even shock, his arm shot out and slammed full force into Ryan's chest, knocking him across the deck and into the elevator door. As the realization that Ryan had attacked him while he was unarmed, without holding back dawned on him his anger flared. "What the fuck is wrong with you!"

"You said to give you a decent reason." Ryan replied with a razor edged voice as he stood up slowly.

"Why the hell are you doing this? What on Spira, the Farplane, or Earth could drive you to attack me?" Matt demanded.

"I need to know something." Ryan replied icily. "And you're the only person on the ship that can show me. If Auron were still around, yeah, I'd go to him. But he's not. Now pick up your fucking axe."

"What is it, huh?" Matt threw his hands out and shouted, "What the hell could I show you here, now, that you don't already know?"

Ryan started forward again. "Whether or not I've reached my limit." He shot back.

"What does that matter, huh? Enough to break my face in!" Matt demanded.

"Yes." Ryan said flatly. "To me, yes, it does. You don't understand, Matt. You're a _god_. You won't reach _your _limit for _years _more then likely." He stopped and looked at his hands before muttering, "But there's a good chance I've reached mine."

"I still don't get why it matters whether or not you've reached your limit." Matt said when he'd managed to drive his anger back. Ryan didn't answer so Matt continued, "This has something to do with that dream you had. The one that gave you that scar."

"Yes." Ryan admitted.

"Ok, some progress." Matt muttered. "Next, why don't you tell me why it's so _fucking _important that you know if you've reached your limit."

"Because if I have, then I'll never beat Lusniec. I won't even be able to hold him up for a few minutes." Ryan stated with a tone of finality that Matt had never heard him use before.

"So what? Big deal, one person you can't beat. Get over it, Ryan." Matt ordered.

"I can't, Matt. Tell me something: If you're fighting Yevon and I can't keep Lusniec at bay for more then a few seconds, what are you going to do? Are _you _going to fight them both at once?" Ryan shouted. "Well?"

"Ok, so say you have hit your limit. What then?" Matt demanded as his anger started to. "Are you just going to sit there and accept your fate? Just going to roll over like a good dog because Lusniec's stronger then you?"

"Fuck you!" Ryan shouted.

"No, fuck _you_." Matt stepped forward and picked his friend up off the ground with one hand. "Lusniec's stronger then you, big fucking deal. He was stronger then you two years ago too, and you killed him then."

"I had an advantage then." Ryan snapped.

"And you still do, damn it!" Matt had crossed to the point where Ryan's back was against the wall. "You really think that he could copy the final attack?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and laughed. "You really doubt that he can? He had two years, Matt. _Two_! Even if he _couldn't _copy the final attack, he's been thinking about it, turning it this way and that until he's figured out every _fucking _aspect about it! He can't use it, big deal. After two years, I bet you anything he can block it."

Matt's anger got the better of him. "Again!" He shouted in Ryan's face before slamming his friend into the wall. "Again you're letting a few words fuck your life up! What the hell is _with _you?"

Matt's world exploded into white-hot pain as Ryan's knee connected with his groin. His vision blurred for a second and Ryan kicked him in the chest, forcing the air our of Matt's lungs and freeing himself from his grip. "Ok." Matt gasped when he could talk again. "I like to think I've got a pretty decent amount of self control, but you just crossed the fucking line."

Matt picked up his axe just as Ryan muttered, "It's about time. The faster we do this, the faster I can get back inside."

"Fuck off." Matt replied as he twirled his axe. Ryan smiled grimly and charged.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!" Matt stepped to the side with his back leg and the attack slammed into the ground next to him. "Ryu Sho Sen!" Matt threw his head back and Ryan passed by harmlessly.

As he did Matt grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him back to the deck. Stunned by the quick move Ryan didn't do anything for a second, in which time Matt trapped his sword arm by stepping on it. "Mine." He said simply as he leveled the axe's head at Ryan's head. "Or is that not real enough for you?"

Matt raised an eyebrow as Ryan rolled his eyes. "Bye, Matt." He said before a wave of holy energy slammed into the thunder god's back, nearly knocking him into the elevator door. Rubbing his wrist Ryan turned to face his friend. "Two years of sparring and training against each other. We know each other's moves as well as we know our own."

"Two halves to the same coin." Matt agreed as he stood up. "Guess this could take a while, huh?"

"It could." Ryan agreed as he came up into his ready stance. "So why don't we get started?" a bolt of lightning slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground.

"Gladly." Matt agreed as Ryan got back to his feet, chest smoking from the attack. Ryan charged and Matt rolled his eyes. "Head on won't work, Ryan. You know that." Matt grabbed the wrist of the hand Ryan was holding his sword with, stopping the strike in mid-swing. Matt watched in confusion as Ryan jumped off the ground, until a shoe had rather engulfed his vision. He snapped his head back, and the attack brushed his nose as it flew by harmlessly.

"Bastard!" Ryan yelled as he twisted as fast as he could. His other foot connected squarely on Matt's chin. Without waiting to see how badly it'd hurt him, Ryan wrenched free of Matt's grasp and kicked off his chest.

When he landed he whirled around, barely knocking Matt's axe away. "Too slow!" Matt's fist connected with Ryan's stomach, driving the air from his lungs so forcefully that Ryan dropped his sword. Before he flew backwards Matt grabbed by the head and pulled forward and into his knee. He sighed, disgusted with himself as Ryan dropped to the ground with a bloody, probably broken, nose. "I'm done, whether you care or not." He said before walking into the elevator.

**888**

Kitty's ears twitched, an unconscious sign that she was confused, when Rae finished explaining about the gods of the surface world. "So you have five gods, and Yevon is the strongest of them all?"

"Sadly." Rae muttered while she braided Kitty's hair.

"So they must be like the 'Seven Lords' of the surface!" Kitty said happily.

"Seven Lords? Who are they?" Rae questioned.

"They're pretty much the same thing as your gods. You said you had gods for Fire, Ice, Water, Lightning, and Non-Elemental, right?" Kitty inquired.

"Right." Rae agreed. "And then we also have they're body guard, an angel that manipulates Holy power the same way the gods manipulate their power, just not on the same scale."

"Well, we have the Fire Lord, the Ice Lord, the Water Lord, the Thunder Lord, the Neutral Lord, the Death Lord, and the Shadow Lord." Kitty counted them off on her fingers as she named them. "The Fire Lord is a warrior dedicated to burning away evil. The Ice Lord is a warrior who can freeze her heart and do what's necessary at will. The Water Lord is as adaptable as the water and has no problem dealing with unexpected situations. The Thunder Lord is normally really calm, sometimes even anti-social, but when he's needed he crushes his opponents with a power as great as any thunderstorm. The Neutral Lord is indifferent to everything and does what he needs to, but watches out for himself most of the time. The Death Lord is a natural leader who seems cold hearted, but really is really just someone willing to make the painful choices. And the Shadow Lord is someone who doesn't give away much about himself, and what he does give away is usually not the most reliable information." Kitty's ears twitched again and Rae poked her in the side.

"What aren't you telling me?" She demanded with a giggle as Kitty jumped into the air slightly.

"I was just thinking!" Kitty protested in a voice that led Rae to believe that she was faking a pout. "But if you _really _wanna know, I guess I could tell you." She turned around, ignored the annoyed frown Rae gave her when she ruined half her braid in the process, and leaned forward. "Not a lot of Lydc even know this, but there's a legend about an eighth Lord."

"Really?" Rae felt a little satisfaction at the fact that she was about to be told something most Lydc didn't even know about their own Pantheon. "What's this one the Lord of?"

"It's said to be the Protecting Lord. He's supposed to be really nice, and willing to do anything he can to help the good people in the world. And it's said that he cuts the wind when he swings!" Kitty's nose twitched, a sign that she was excited, but Rae barely registered it.

'Cuts the wind?' Her heart leapt into her through and she felt the color draining out of her face. 'Could she be talking about Lusniec?'

"The Protecting Lord. He's the lord I serve! Helping others is something that I feel is very important in the world, which is another reason I want to go to the surface so badly! I think my people could learn a lot from the surface dwellers, maybe even form friendships with enough of them to get a lot of help when we have to fight our enemy again." Kitty raised an eyebrow at Rae's paleness. "You ok? You look like you just saw an unsent."

"Where do you keep all the information on the Lords?" Rae asked quietly.

"Well, aside from the Protecting Lord, everything's pretty much common knowledge." Kitty shrugged. "The Protecting Lord is kept a big secret by the elders for some reason. I think its cause he's not _actually _a Lord. He's just their bodyguard."

'That settles it.' Rae thought sadly. 'That's definitely Lusniec. But why keep him a secret?'

"Wanna read about him?" Kitty asked suddenly.

"Wha?" Rae blinked. "I thought you were supposed to keep the information about the Protecting Lord a secret."

"Well, I am. But think about it, what Lydc is gonna believe a human captive if she starts talking about a Lord they don't know about?" She smiled. "They'll just think you're crazy, so there's really no problem."

Rae smiled. "Ok, Kitty. I think I _do _want to read about him then." Kitty smiled and ran out the door, leaving Rae alone to ponder the question racing around her head.

**888**

Something caused the hair on the back of JT's neck to stand up. He glanced around the gloomy temple's halls, wondering not for the first time whether or not he was being watched. Turning slowly he noted a door with light flickering out of the cracks. He crept towards it as silently as Seph would have, vaguely recognizing the room as the Head Priest's.

As he drew closer the sound of gagged sobs drifted into his ear, causing his blood to boil. He heard the crack of a whip and someone, a woman by the sound of the voice, let out a muffled shout of pain.

"Shut up!" The priest cried. Another crack caused the woman to scream out in pain, but whatever the priest had gagged her with did its job. JT, crouching right next to the door, could barely hear it. "Sir Seph came to us, wounded, and you caused him _pain_!"

'So it's the mage who healed Seph. Why's he whipping her?' JT flinched as the woman cried out again.

"For that you'll get another fifty lashings! Guards! See to it that she receives them, and _anything _else that you feel necessary. And I mean _anything_!" The Head Priest shouted.

"Sir!" Two voices replied over the sound of armor scrapping.

"Take her out of here. See to her punishment." The priest said casually. The two guards stomped across the room, grunted as they picked the woman up, and started towards the door. JT jumped back and watched as the two guards, both about the same size as him, came walking out, the terrified white mage slung over the one's shoulder. The second her eyes met his JT raised a finger to his lips and she nodded slightly.

Sticking to the shadows, JT followed the two guards until they started down the steps towards the forest. 'This could be a problem.' JT thought grimly as he looked around for another route. It wouldn't do either of them any good if he got caught.

"JT, over here." Seph whispered from a nearby treetop.

"Seph, what the hell are you doing here?" JT hissed as he climbed in the tree.

"You think you were the only one to hear what that pig of a priest was doing?" Seph shot back, an ice-cold look, the same look he'd had every time JT had seen him before two years ago, in his eyes. "I don't care if he _is _the Head Priest, he's got no right to whip someone because she pressed against a wound a little bit too hard." Seph explained as they scrambled down the tree.

The scream of a woman sent them sprinting through the forest, cursing under their breath. Seph blinked as JT began to pull away at a steady pace. 'Wow. He's really getting into this.' Seph thought.

JT jumped over a log and found the white mage, tied to a tree and half undressed, trying to get away from the two guards who were now staring at him with hate filled eyes. "Last chance, kid. Get lost."

"Last chance?" JT repeated skeptically. "When was my first one?"

"Fine, kid. We gave you a chance to get lost." The two guards turned and drew their swords. "See you on the Farplane." A blast of holy energy slammed into one of the guards from behind. JT ducked under the flying body and glanced at the White Mage with open surprise. So did the remaining guard, and it cost him. When he turned around to face JT he found the younger man's boot approaching his face at what seemed horrifyingly close to terminal velocity. His head snapped back and the white mage gasped.

"Did you just _kill _him?" She asked with a hint of panic in her voice when he'd removed her gag.

"Ummm… I don't know…" JT admitted absently while looking around for Seph, wondering why he hadn't made it yet.

"Well, check!" The mage ordered frantically.

JT glanced at her oddly. "Wouldn't you rather I… I dunno… untie you so you can cloth yourself?" The mage looked down at half undressed body and cried out. Rolling his eyes JT walked to the side of the tree, and with a single cut of his Katar one rope fell away. As soon as the other one was cut the mage covered herself as best she could with her hands, and rushed into the nearest patch of trees.

"You going to be ok?" JT asked when she came back out.

"Yeah… I'll be fine. It's not the first time something like this has happened since I came to the temple." The white mage replied quietly.

"So why not leave?" JT asked.

"It's not that simple." The mage shot back. "I'm just a white mage, and I'm not that good with offensive magic. That spell I used earlier-"

"The Holy spell, right?" JT questioned.

"Right. Like I was saying, I'm not very good with offensive magic. That's the first time it's every worked right." She sighed and sat down on the ground. "And without any talent in hand to hand, or offensive magic, I wouldn't last very long outside of the temple. I'd end up in the Farplane in a few days… not that anyone would care."

"What about your family?" JT asked, sitting down across from her.

"Both my parents died in Operation Mi'Ihen two years ago, and I didn't have any brothers or sisters. I went to the temples for a place to stay until I could get back on my feet, but I ended up becoming an apprentice to a white mage." She shrugged. "When _he _died I had no one left, and since everyone around me kept dying I kind of…"

"Isolated yourself from society?" JT finished.

The mage smiled slightly and nodded. "I'd better get back to the temple…"

"No." Seph said from the branch above them. The white mage's head shot up, her eyes wide with surprise, but JT just glanced up. After traveling with Seph for two years, it wasn't surprising anymore. "You go back to the temple and they'll just continue to take advantage of you. JT, take miss…"

"Melody." The mage filled in.

"Right. JT, take Melody to the port. Get a room under my name at one of the inns. Lay low until I get back. Once these two don't show up on time they're going to come looking for them." Seph turned and prepared to jump to another branch, but stopped and turned his head back. "I'll deal with the High Priest. You won't have to worry about him anymore, Melody."

"Oh… uh… thank you." Melody replied in a shocked voice.

"Hey, what about reading that book?" JT asked before Seph could leave.

The former assassin smiled. "Already got what I needed." He replied and jumped off into the night.

JT sighed and shook his head with mock helplessness. "Such a showoff."

"Why are you doing this?" Melody asked as they started to walk towards Kilika.

"Huh? What do you mean?" JT asked without looking back.

"Why are you helping me?" Melody clarified. "I mean, you don't even know me. It's not something a lot of people would do in Spira."

"True." JT admitted as he pulled something out of his pocket. With a snap and a shake a glow rod illuminated their immediate surroundings. He turned around and smiled at her, staring into her purple eyes until they widened with realization.

"You're an Al Bhed?" She asked, apparently astonished.

"Yep." JT stated as he resumed walking.

"I didn't even realize it. Not even when I looked at you earlier." Melody admitted.

"Most people don't. It's the eyes. Aside from me, all pure-blood Al Bhed have green eyes with deeper green swirls." He shrugged. "I, however, was born with red eyes for some reason. My sister used to say it was because I was going to make a legend out of myself."

"Did you?" Melody asked curiously.

"No." JT replied with a laugh. "I tried to, mind you. I was going to go with my sister when she went on her pilgrimage, but she wouldn't let me. Then she invented something that made her eyes look normal, and moved to Bevelle to try them out. I suppose, given the fact that she lived there for two years, they worked pretty well."

"That sounds amazing." Melody admitted. "Your sister must be a genius."

"Well, if you ever meet her, don't tell her that. She's already too hard-headed for her own good." JT muttered.

"Well, where's your sister now?" Melody asked. JT's heart skipped a beat, and his body stiffened for a few seconds. "JT? Something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" JT bit his lip and stopped walking. "My sister disappeared a while ago. Seph and I have been looking for her but we haven't had any luck."

"Oh… I'm sorry." Melody said sincerely.

"Ah, don't worry about it." JT waved the comment off and started walking again. "Not like you knew. Besides, we'll find her."

**888**

'Wonder how much longer it'll take JT and Melody to get to a hotel.' Seph thought absently as he walked up the stairs leading to the temple. The fact that the guards stared at him in amazement since they'd never seen him leave was satisfying. He hadn't gotten as rusty as he'd expected to after all.

Finally, near the top of the stairs, one of the guards worked up the nerve to ask him, "Sir Seph, when did you leave?"

"I slipped out a while ago to take a walk. Why?" Seph asked.

"Just wondering, Sir, because nobody saw you leave. How was your walk?" The guard asked a little more forcefully.

"Fine, why?" Seph asked, feigning ignorance. 'Guess they didn't want any witnesses to the rape…'

"We've just been having problems with late night patrols being attacked by the Youth League members." The guard explained. "If you were attacked, please let us know. We'd be glad to treat any of your injuries and exact revenge upon the Youth League."

Seph shook his head, not at the offer, but at how much information the guard had just given away. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. Thanks anyway!" Seph said with a wave before walking off. Walking like he was half asleep, he stumbled through the door to the hallway that held not only his room, but the Head Priests room as well. He stopped outside his door and debated whether or not he had anything worth carrying with him. Assassinations weren't always the cleanest things in the world after all, and the extra weight might slow him down.

He sighed and pushed the door open. His backpack sat on his bed, along with a water bottle that was actually JT's and the Book of the Gods. 'Never hurts to know your enemies.' He decided. He grabbed the book and threw it in the book back, then shoved the water bottle in on top. He was already at the Head Priest's room when he was slinging it over his shoulder.

"Head Priest, it's Seph. Are you awake?" Seph whispered.

"Why, yes Sir Seph, I am. One moment please." He heard a book being closed and the fat man walking toward the door. He opened the door and smiled at Seph before asking, "What is it, Sir Seph?"

"I had a question about a reference to Yevon in the Book of the Gods." Seph admitted honestly.

"Very well, come in." The head priest opened the door completely and stepped aside so that Seph could come in. "Now, what question was it?"

Seph pulled the Book of the Gods out of his backpack and flipped to a page he'd marked with a piece of paper. "Here, this line. It says that the 'Yevon crafted the soul of the man into the form he wanted of the one to protect them, and granted it the Divine Light, giving birth to an angel named Lusniec.' My question is, if Yevon crafted the soul of the man into the form he wanted, was Lusniec different before he became the protector of the gods?"

"Well, it's entirely possible." The priest admitted. "I'm… not sure. Nobody ever questioned the phrase before."

"Ok, it's possible. Is it _likely_?" Seph corrected himself.

"Is it _likely_ that Lusniec's soul was different when he was a mortal? Yes, very. Gaining as much knowledge as he did so suddenly would have a massive impact on anyone. In fact, I would bet that Lusniec was much different when he was a mortal, maybe even an exact opposite of what he became mentally."

"But he… he said that he hated him for having everything he could never have, and they're exact opposites…" Seph muttered.

"He? You mean Lusniec? You've met Lusniec?" The priest asked in an astonished voice.

"On several occasions." Seph admitted. "Now answer me this, Head Priest of Yevon. When Yevon crafted Lusniec's mortal soul into the angel that protected the gods, is it possible he could have erased some of the mortal Lusniec's memories? Or even all of them?"

"Of course it is." The Head Priest stated firmly. "Yu Yevon is a god. _The _god. He can do as he pleases with whatever he wants. Nothing in this world is beyond his power to create or destroy or alter as he sees fit."

"Would it be possible to undo these affects?" Seph demanded.

"Well… maybe. I don't know, why?" The Head Priest countered.

Seph closed the book and smiled at the Head Priest. "Now, Head Priest, I have one last question for you."

"And I'll be glad to answer." The Priest said cheerfully.

"Head Priest of Yevon, on whose authority are you granted the power to whip a woman for helping a wounded person to the best of her abilities _and then_ order your men to _rape _her?" Seph's eyes were ice cold when he glared at the Priest.

"I… but… no, you don't… uh…" The Priest stumbled over his words as he tried to get away from the suddenly terrifying guest. "You don't… uh… understand, Sir Seph. You see I­-"

"You believe that because you are the Head Priest of the Kilika Temple you have the power to abuse and ruin the lives of others, correct?" Seph finished.

"That's not what I was going to say!" The priest protested as he tripped over his own feet in an effort to get away from Seph.

"Then please do tell me, Head Priest. What _were _you going to say?"

The Priest's face paled. "I was going to say it was necessary to punish her for her mistake! It's the only way she learns!"

Seph rolled his eyes. "You see, this is why I never worshipped Yevon even when it was popular." He said with a deceptively calm tone. "Because it's leaders are hypocritical. Almost all of them. The only _honest _one I ever met was Shelinda, and she was only a Captain of the Guard in Bevelle."

"Sir Seph, please, spare me!" The priest begged. "I swear, I'll never do it again! I'll atone for my crimes, every one of them!"

"Yeah, and I'm a fucking Lydc." Seph said calmly. "Ok, _priest_, amuse me. _Why _should I spare you?"

"Because… I… I offered you anything you needed two years ago!" The priest said confidently.

"You think I'm _stupid_?" Seph asked bluntly. "I seem to remember coming here four years ago, and you flatly refused to let me in to pray. And as for two years ago, you were _ordered _to cooperate with me." The priest was almost as pale as a piece of paper now, "And even then I heard your men, and you yourself for that matter, muttering about how it was 'stupid to help someone who wasn't even a member of the Fayth' and that I 'was an expendable piece of trash that should've been thrown away years ago.' And don't bother to try and deny it, it won't help you any."

"Leave me be! Guards! Help me!" The Priest shouted as he crawled away.

"Don't bother." The door slammed shut, the lock turned, and the keyhole filled with water. "The won't be able to get in. And even if they could, you'd just be ordering them to walk to their death. You'd just be wasting the lives of your subordinates, like a true coward." The priest found a vase and hurled it at Seph. The assassin's head moved to the right while a line of water shot through the priest's throat. Instantly the priest stiffened, only to go limp a few seconds later. "Well then," Seph said as he opened a window and jumped out, 'I suppose I should go meet up with JT and Melody. Hope they haven't gotten into too much trouble."

**888**

"I told you that you can't come in!" The guard shouted down to JT and Melody. "Now get lost, brats."

"Hey, I thought you Youth League members were supposed to be supportive of anyone opposing New Yevon!" JT shot back.

"You're traveling with a White Mage that has lived at that temple for nearly two years! _She _is a supporter of New Yevon!" The guard said while jabbing an accusing finger towards Melody who just looked at her feet.

"So that's why they tried to _rape _her?" JT asked.

"What are you talking about?" The guard demanded.

"It's true! The High Priest of the temple ordered two of the guards to rape me after he'd lashed me with a whip several times!" Melody shouted with tears in her eyes. "I came here because JT said that the Youth League didn't like New Yevon. I was hoping I might be able to find protection from New Yevon in the port that you helped to rebuild!"

The guard looked like he was going to shout something at them, but someone else walked up onto the rampart and tapped him on the shoulder. When he turned around there was a loud "Smack!" as someone slapped him so violently he nearly fell over the side. "Let them through." A woman commanded.

"Lady Dona? Is that you?" Melody shouted to the top of rampart. After a second Dona looked over and nodded as the gate was lowered. "Thank you, Lady Dona!"

"Payment for saving Barthello's life two years ago." Dona said simply before walking off.

"Well, she's as cheerful as always." Melody said as the two walked into the city.

It didn't take long to find an inn. The city had gotten two more over the past two years. And at the mention of Seph's name the attendant instantly handed them a key for free. "Wonder what that was all about…" JT muttered as they walked through the halls to find their room.

"Are you complaining?" Melody asked as she glanced at the door numbers, wondering why she felt so odd. 'He saved my life, but in the process he saw me without a shirt on. Is that why I feel so odd?' It was an unnerving feeling, whatever it was.

"Here we go." JT unlocked a door and pushed it opened. The bed inside was the biggest bed either of them had ever seen, and dominated most of the room. A door off to the right led to a shower, which Melody, after warning JT not to peek, used immediately, leaving the young Al Bhed to wait for his turn on the bed.

After somewhere around a half hour Melody came out and looked around the room. "Oh, damn it!"

"What?" JT asked as he looked around the room. There wasn't anything any different then when she'd gotten in, other then him taking his shirt off to cool down.

"I don't have any clothes to change into." Melody held out her own clothes, which were damp from being in the bathroom while pulling the towels wrapped around her tighter with her other.

"Woman." JT said with a sarcastic shake of his head. He reached over and grabbed his backpack and reached inside. "Ok, they aren't mage's robes, and they aren't girls clothes…" He said as he pulled out a pair of sweat pants and went back in for a shirt, "but they're baggy, and they'll work for pajamas at least." He pulled out a t-shirt and threw it on top of the sweatpants. "Unfortunately I can't do anything about underwear or a bra…"

Melody sat down on the bed next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. "That's ok." She said quietly.

JT felt his heart rate increase and asked, "Can I help you?" he wasn't the very comfortable with girls close to him at all. Having a beautiful woman _leaning _against him made him feel more awkward then when he'd first started to study martial arts under Seph, which had taken months to get used to.

Melody lifted her head and looked at him. "Maybe." She said quietly.

"Maybe?" JT repeated with a raised eyebrow as Melody leaned forward until their noses were touching.

"You've lived a sheltered life, haven't you?" She asked with gentle amusement in her purple eyes, which JT found himself suddenly very drawn to. He nodded slowly. "Never been comfortable with woman either, have you?"

He shook his head slowly and asked, "How'd you know?"

Melody smiled at him and pushed him against the bed slowly. "You're trembling." JT's heart skipped a beat when Melody's towel came off.

"You're moving pretty… he, fast?" He said, suddenly feeling the need to stall for a reason that was beyond him since every other part of him was screaming to shut up and be glad.

"Are you complaining?" Melody asked quietly, starting to rise slowly.

"No…" JT said slowly as he took in Melody's entire body in the moonlight. "I just… uh…" he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Oh, screw it." He said when he opened his eyes.

**888**

Seph walked into the hotel and found the lobby full of activity, despite it being three in the morning. Shaking his head he walked over to the reception counter and said, "Two of my friends came in earlier and got a room under the name of 'Seph.' Can I have my key?"

"Oh, Mr. Seph, of course! They said to be expecting you." The man reached under the desk and when his hand returned it held a key. "Here you are. Room number 713. Have a good night sir."

"Oh, before you go I have two questions for you." Seph said suddenly.

"Yes sir?" The attendant said while turning around.

"How come you're so busy at this hour?" Seph motioned to all the people around.

"It is the Youth League. They're preparing to demand a sphere that New Yevon has be released to the public." The attendant said simply. "And the other thing, sir?"

"Do you have bouquets?" Seph asked with an amused smile.

"Yes, sir. We do." The attendant informed him.

"Can I have one delivered to room 713?" Seph asked.

"To and from who, sir?" The attendant asked while pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil.

"To Melody, from JT." Seph said. "But not until the sun comes up." He added on a side note.

"Of course sir. The flowers will be there when Melody wakes up." The attendant said with a smile.

"Thank you." Seph said before sprinting down the hallway. He found the room and went to open in, only to realize it was locked. 'Duh.' He thought to himself. 'They knew I'd be able to get a key.' He pulled the key out, but in his half asleep state he dropped it. Muttering to himself quietly he bent down and froze when a moan escaped the room. A _long _moan, the kind he heard a _lot _of before he started going out with Rae. He smiled to himself and thought, 'Guess I didn't need to get her flowers.' Picking up the key he sprinted back down the hallway to the reception desk

"Something wrong, sir?" The attendant asked when he spotted Seph.

"Yeah, well. My friends seem to be… uh… 'enjoying' themselves in my absence." Seph said with a chuckle.

* * *

ok, i know, boring chapter. get over it, 'cause the next chapter is probably going to be full of nothing but battles (i can think of 2 off the top of my head, but you'll have to wait and see :-D). anyway, hope this one wasn't too close to the game plot. read and review, and until next time, don't do nothing too stupid without me! 


	7. Rematch

i'm back! well, this chapter was supposed to have another half to it but it broke thirty pages by the end of the first half so i figured... let's make it _two _chapters. so here it is, the latest chapter!

Auron's Fan- don't worry, i'm breaking away from the plot from here on out. just have to figure out what to do until the final fight... oh well. it'll be good, you can be assured of that. yes, i thought the ending was good. and, if i recall correctly, _you _suggested that melody have purple eyes. oh, and _hurry up and update What The? _ok? anyway, you sent me two reviews for chapter 6... yes, seph had to endure that tourture. yes, ryan got his ass handed to him by matt. now go up date _What The_ so i can read it! and, yes, ryan's situation with lusniec after him and his friends being so much stronger is rather... bad.

Anasazi Darkmoon- you think so? i thought it was kind of... i dunno, stupid. but it worked so i really didn't mind. as for issaru... that part is just so... stupid in the game. i thought it needed some excitement. i think i did ok. and yes, JT got himself a companion. i was hoping they'd make a good couple. makes things go more nicely. and as for all those question you wanted to ask but didn't, you were right. they probably _will _be answered if you keep reading, so... keep reading!

Bstgoalie31- KUDOS to you too! NOW REVIEW ALL THE CHAPTERS YOU READ FORM HERE ON OUT! or i'll stop telling you how far i am when you ask me.

Da KeR MysTeRr- yeah, issaru is annoying. and i really have worked with lighting and sound equipment, so that kind of worked. as for the exploding speaker... that was just funny. yeah, Zedih's teleporting method is pretty kool, and as for Ryan... well, you'll find out some stuff in _this _chapter, but it'll raise some questions too... oh well.

labrat-seph- actually they were just randomly wondering and looking for leads. then seph decided, 'ok, let's get Gippal to help' which usually isn't a good idea... gippal seems like the kind of person that causes problems in delicate situations... and as for why you were in a bad mood, i read it, and it's completely understandable. i sort of know how you feel...

Sly- well, i dunno if you're here yet, but thanx for reading 2 Fallen Gods. so you found this from Da keR MysTeRr's profile? kool, whaver works. well, hope you enjoy this one as much as 2 Fallen Gods!

lightningwizard- welcome back! haven't heard from you in a while, i was starting to get worried. anyway, your wait for some of the 'more important battles to occur' is over, since there are two major battles in this chapter alone... oh, and nick does a lot of fighting in this one too, not that you asked about that at all. yeah, Slayers of Chaos was just random fights, but that's why i'm so good at _these _fights, so it wasn't a _total _waste. you learn something about the Book of the Gods in this chapter actually, so pay attention! oh, and did you figure out who comes back before the end?

* * *

Rematch 

Rae stared down at the picture of the Protecting Lord, trying to find an answer she knew nobody had. "Kitty, why is it that the Protecting Lord's picture is split in two?" and to herself she thought, 'And why is half of it Lusniec and the other half Ryan?'

Kitty raised an eyebrow and looked at the picture. "Isn't that normal on the surface?" Rae shook her head. "Well, at least we have _some _things in common with the surface then."

"Great, but why is the picture split in two?" She flipped through the pages that had the pictures of the Lords on them. "All of them are, for that matter."

"Well, the elder never gave us an actual reason, but I think that the ideals that the Lords stand for are," Kitty cleared her throat and continued in a mock-professor voice, "especially represented by certain individuals who are destined not to receive some of their powers, but are to completely replace them."

"No way…" Rae muttered as she flipped through the pages and looked at the pictures. "Andy, Seph, Matt, and Ryan."

"What are you talking about?" Kitty asked as she moved over and sat down next to Rae on the couch.

"Ok, look at this." She flipped to Fire Lord's picture and pointed to the split. "This is the Fire Lord, right?" She pointed at the left half of the picture and Kitty nodded. "This," She pointed to the right half of the picture, "is my friend, Andy." She flipped to the Water Lord's picture. "Water Lord, my boyfriend, Seph." She turned the pages again. "Thunder Lord, my friend Matt." She flipped to the Protecting Lord's picture, "The Protecting Lord, and my friend Ryan."

"You actually _know _these people?" Kitty asked in a breathless voice.

"Yeah. I do." Rae admitted as she continued to flip through the pictures until she came across the Neutral Lord. "And I know him too! I can't remember his name, mind you, but I remember him!" She tapped the right half of the picture but nothing came to mind. "Oh, screw it."

"Rae, do you know what this _means_?" Kitty asked as the Al Bhed closed the book and put it away.

"That I've got friend in high places?" Rae asked jokingly.

"If you know them, if you _really _know them, then the village elder might not let Yevon keep you prisoner!" Kitty said excitedly. "If you tell him, you'll be free!"

"No." Rae said instantly. "Yevon's the most ruthless, and the most powerful, of all the gods Kitty. On Mt. Gagazet _Lusniec _nearly wiped out an entire race of powerful warriors, can you imagine what _Yevon _would do? I'm not gonna let that happen to the Lydc for trying to help me. I'll wait for Seph to come and get me."

"I thought Lusniec was the surface version of the Protecting Lord." Kitty stated quietly. Rae opened the book back up to the picture that was half Lusniec, half Ryan and sighed.

"He is." She said sadly.

**888**

JT squinted against the sunlight that was filtering through the window's closed shutters, wondering what had woken him up. He looked around and then he understood: no Melody. His heart skipped a beat as he jumped out of the bed and pulled his pants on.

"Melody?" He whispered when he the pajamas he'd given her on the ground by the bathroom. Odd, he didn't recall her using them at all the night before…

"JT, you awake?" Melody's voice drifted in from the hallway and the Al Bhed felt his heart skip another beat.

"Yeah." He replied. She pushed the door open and closed it behind her. "What's up?"

Melody shrugged and set a bouquet of flowers down on the small table in the room. "I did a little clothing shopping, but the stores here never have anything I like so I just looked around." She admitted. "Otherwise… not a lot. Oh, thanks for the flowers."

JT closed his eyes for a second, and then shook his head. He wasn't in the mood to worry about whether or not he'd ordered flowers for her, not after last night. "Ohhh, so _that's _where you went this morning." JT said sarcastically instead as she laid down on the bed and stretched out.

"You look worn out." She commented absently.

"Just got up." JT replied. "Normally, I'd have been up for," he glanced out the window and found the sun nearly straight above them, "six, seven hours."

"You're crazy." Melody stated with a laugh. "That'd only be, what, two, three hours after we made it here?" JT shrugged.

"Home was run like a military base. You got up when they decided you got up." He said simply. "After four years of that, then two years with Seph, it's just a habit."

"Yep, completely crazy." Melody repeated with another laugh as JT laid down on the bed next to her.

"Yeah, I don't get enough sleep." He stated as Melody curled up against him. He blinked as the feeling that something was wrong washed over him again, and glanced around the room.

"What? What's wrong?" Melody asked as he chuckled nervously.

"Where's Seph?" JT asked simply, noticing for the first time that the ex-assassin not only wasn't in the room, but also hadn't knocked on the doors last night.

There was a sharp knock on the door followed by Seph's voice. "Hey, can I come in or are you two still enjoying your _alone _time?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Come in." JT said with a sigh. "So you _did _know about last night."

"Half of Kilika knows about you two last night." Seph stated with an annoyed sigh. "I ended up getting the room right next door… didn't get any sleep…"

"Oh, poor baby." JT teased while Melody turned so she could see Seph. "Why don't you go take a nap-"

"After last night?" Seph asked with a laugh. "Not a chance. As if your sister wasn't going to kill me badly enough for teaching you martial arts, now you had _sex _while I was supposed to be taking care of you? I'm in enough shit as it is, JT. Besides, the Celsius just landed at the docks."

"Celsius?" JT questioned.

"Isn't that…" Melody stopped for a second before finishing with, "Lady Yuna's ship?"

"Yeah." Seph said. "JT, get a shirt on, and then get your stuff together. I'll meet you in the lobby." He walked out the door but stopped in the hallway. "If you're not down in five minutes, I'm coming back up to check on you two, got it?"

"Killjoy." Melody muttered as Seph started back down the hall. "This is going to be a boring trip if he keeps checking in on us like this the rest of the way."

"What'd'ya mean by 'trip'?" JT asked as he reluctantly got up and started to gather his things together.

"What else? This is going to be a boring trip if killjoy keeps checking in on us." Melody repeated.

"You're coming with?" JT asked hopefully.

"Wasn't that the original plan?" Melody asked curiously.

"The original plan was to stop you from getting raped." JT shrugged. "We didn't have time to think of anything beyond getting a hotel room."

"Well aren't you two just geniuses." Melody said with a sarcastic sigh.

"No, we're just two guys trying to get my sister back." JT replied without missing a beat. "One of whom happens to be the former top assassin in all of Spira _and _the god of water." He shoved the sweat pants into his backpack, threw it on his shoulder, and held his hand out to Melody. She grabbed it and allowed him to lead her out the room and down the hallway.

**888**

Matt wandered through the halls of the Celsius as it prepared to dock at Kilika Harbor. Ryan was sitting in his room staring at the ceiling absently. Rikku had only gotten up because of the ship slowing down less then ten minutes ago, despite the fact that it was already almost noon. Yuna was wondering around and talking to everyone, even Paine who was simply standing in her normal position going 'Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Wanna get hurt?' in an attempt to get Yuna to leave her alone. Nick was in his room playing solitaire with a deck of cards he'd brought with, and Sakura hadn't been seen yet.

Thus, Matt found himself standing in front of her door, wondering what she was doing. 'Nothing's getting done with me just standing here,' he thought with a mental shrug as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah? Who is it?" Sakura called from the other side.

"Matt." Matt said simply.

"Oh, Matt-kun!" Sakura said pleasantly as she opened the door. "What's up?"

"We're going to be landing soon. Less then," metal groaned beneath them as something shifted so that the ship would be able to land, "a minute, apparently." He finished.

"Ok." Sakura said before closing the door.

'That was rude.' Matt thought as he headed back to his room to grab Lightning Edge. As soon as he opened the door he found himself staring not as his room, but Kilika Temple's courtyard. And for a reason he didn't understand, _everything _inside of him was screaming danger. "Well, that's wonderful." He muttered as the image disappeared. "Just where we have to go, no less."

"Something wrong?" Sakura asked as she stood on her tiptoes to see over Matt's shoulder more clearly. She frowned quizzically as Matt walked into the empty room, revealing that there was nothing there. "Were you just talking to yourself?"

"Hallucinating, actually." Matt replied with a small smile as he picked up Lightning Edge and started back towards the door. As he closed it Baby jumped off of a still half-asleep Rikku's shoulder and landed on Sakura's head with a happy chitter.

"I think he's saying good morning." Sakura said with a helpless laugh, which was followed by another set of happy chitters from Baby. "Yep. Definitely good morning."

Matt nodded to the squirrel and said, "Morning, Baby. Sakura-chan, pretty soon you're going to be talking to him in his own language like Rikku does."

"Shut up!" Rikku shouted from the bathroom a few doors down the hall. "He taught me Squirrelian, it's not my fault!"

"Squirrelian?" Matt muttered as he and Sakura walked towards the bridge. Ryan walked out of his room up ahead and waited for them when Matt waved him down. When they were close enough to whisper to each other he asked, "Did you know your girlfriend speaks to Baby in Squirrelian?"

Ryan shook his head and asked, "What?"

"My point exactly." Matt said with a nod of his head. "You might, just a thought, want to talk to her about it. I mean 'Squirrelian'? That _can't_ be good for someone's mental health."

Ryan nodded his agreement. "I'll talk to her about it later. Did you get-"

"Yeah, I got it too." Matt cut Ryan off.

"Of course, of course." Ryan said with a sigh. "You always get them too."

"Get what?" Sakura demanded as they reached the elevator.

"Premonitions." Matt said with a shrug. "You'll get them eventually. Kind of a gift from the people up top that are watching out for us."

Sakura rolled her eyes and muttered, "Hallucinations, my ass."

"You have a nice ass." Nick stated as they walked past him.

"Thanks." Sakura replied as she walked over to a wall and waited for someone to fill her in.

"So, Matt, Ryan, Gullwings, where are we going?" Nick questioned.

"Kilika. Didn't we tell you that two days ago?" Buddy asked from his station on the bridge. "That's where we're getting reports of an 'awesome sphere' from, so that's where we're going." His screen lit up and he studied it, frowning slightly. "Turns out that the temple that the sphere's at just had a robbery and an assassination this morning. Reports say that it was around 3 AM. Wonder what that's all about."

"Did they catch the assassin?" Sakura asked.

"No. Says that the only trace of him, other then the dead body of the High Priest in charge of the temple of course, was a line of water on the floor." Ryan, Matt, Yuna, and Rikku who'd just gotten on the bridge in time to hear about the report, shared a nervous glance.

"Did the assassin steal the sphere?" Paine demanded.

"No, says that they stole something called the Book of the Gods." Buddy said with a shrug.

"Seph." Matt muttered. "Always being a pain in the ass."

"You know this guy?" Buddy asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah. Until two years ago he was Spira's top assassin. Now he's just the God of Water." Ryan said quietly. 'And he's got a book that Dnortih said I should read. And he's somewhere in Kilika, but for how much longer?'

"Gullwings!" Brother shouted from the pilot's chair. "Prepare to landing!" Laughing to themselves at their leader's broken Spirian, the Gullwings quickly positioned themselves for landing. It didn't take long since, for a crazy guy with tattoos and a Mohawk, Brother was a surprisingly good pilot.

As the group departed the airship a group of Yuna's biggest, or so their shirts claimed, fans swarmed her, knocking the rest of the Gullwings aside like rag dolls.

"I hate it when people do this!" Rikku whined as she watched Yuna try to detach herself from the group. "It used to be like this all the time, but then it stopped after a while."

Matt sighed and said, "Everyone, stand back." As soon as they stepped back he tapped the nearest person of the mob that had surrounded Yuna asked, in a deceptively calm voice, asked, "Would you mind moving away from my friend. We've got some urgent business to attend to here in Kilika."

"Scram, buddy." The man shot back hotly.

Matt shook his head and raised a hand. "Don't say I didn't try to do things the nice way."

"Here we go again." Nick muttered as the sky started to darken. "Hope nobody's afraid of lightning."

"Hey, pal." Matt said, drawing the attention of the man who he'd been talking to a second before. The man peeled his eyes from the suddenly dark sky to look at Matt just in time to see three bolts of lightning slam into him so quickly that they cracked the ground under his feet.

But the lightning didn't disappear. All of Kilika fell silent, as the line of lightning _remained _the way it was, stretching down to form an aura of lightning around Matt that closely resembled a cage.

"What the hell are you?" The man shouted as he pushed his way through the now pale-faced mob. Yuna took the chance to dash through the hole in the crowd.

"Thanks." She offered as she walked around the cage that was slowly fading.

"No problem." Matt said with a shrug.

"That's definitely a new trick." A familiar voice called out from the crowd. "So, did you come up with that while you were on, Earth I think it was? Yes, Earth. Did you come up with that one while you were on Earth?"

"And so returns the God of Water." Matt muttered as the sky returned to the way it had been before Matt's display. "What's it to you?"

Seph shrugged as he came out of the crowd. "Not much, just wondering. After all, you didn't use it at Mushroom Rock Road. I wasn't sure if you came up with it before that and just didn't use it or afterwards."

"I just came up with it now, actually." Matt admitted with a shrug. "But it seems like it'd be a perfect shield attack."

"Indeed." Seph agreed absently. "What are you guys doing here anyway?"

"We're looking for the 'awesome sphere' that we've been getting reports about." Rikku said enthusiastically. Seph didn't notice the not-so-enthusiastic looks on Ryan and Matt, but he kept quiet. "Know where it is?"

"Probably in the Kilika Temple." Seph said. "But getting in there isn't going to be easy."

"Well that wouldn't be because of a certain pendulum wielding person we know, would it?" JT asked as he and Melody came out of what remained of the crowd.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Seph replied calmly.

"And I'm the next Sin, what'd you do Seph?" Matt demanded.

"Why's everyone ganging up on me?" Seph demanded.

"Because we know you." JT said flatly. "Not to mention we know what you did before Sin died."

"Ok, fine, whatever. I did it, happy?" Seph demanded jokingly. "Anyway, Ryan, Matt, I need to talk to you in private."

"When we get this 'awesome sphere' we can talk." Matt said as he began to walk through the dock city. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"No. We have to talk _now_." Seph said with a dangerous gleam in his eye as he dragged the two of them through the crowd and to the hotel. "Key, please." The attendant tossed the key to Seph who caught it and led the two into his room. "I wouldn't recommend sitting on the bed."

Matt and Ryan looked down at where they were about to sit and decided not to ask why. "Ok, cut the bullshit. Yevon's alive, isn't he?" Seph demanded.

"What makes you think that?" Matt asked casually.

"I said cut the bullshit." Seph repeated.

"I will… when you tell me what makes you think that Yevon's alive." Matt replied.

"This." Seph pulled his shirt up and revealed the scar he'd gotten from Lusniec. "Guess who gave it to me."

"Lusniec?" Ryan suggested slowly.

"Bingo." Seph said quickly. "Now guess what he was using when he attacked?" Ryan shrugged. "Demon Edge."

The confused look Ryan and Matt had been wearing disappeared in the blink of an eye. "That's not possible Seph." Ryan said flat out. "I shattered Demon Edge two years ago, and it was the corrupt version of Wind Cutter. Only a god could have reforged it."

"That's why I think Yevon's alive." Seph stated. "Only a god could have reforged that sword, you said it yourself. Well none of the elemental gods were going to do it; they were against Yevon and Lusniec from the start. Sin, the God of Death, was sent, so he couldn't do it. It _was _Yevon, wasn't it?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, it probably was."

Seph glared at him until he realized that neither of them seemed surprised. "You knew he lived… didn't you?" He questioned.

"Yeah. We did." Ryan said flatly.

"Why didn't you tell us!" Seph demanded crossly. "If we'd known he was alive we'd have-"

"You'd have what, Seph?" Matt asked calmly. "Would've gone and hunted him down and killed him again?" Matt snorted. "It's not that simple. Sakura, the girl with the blue hair that was with us, we need _her _and _Andy _to be there when we kill him. We need all _four _of the elemental gods' heirs. So it wouldn't have done us any good anyway. It would've been a total waste of time. Besides, we don't even know where he is, or where he went after we killed Sin."

Ryan's eyes widen for a second. "Seph, did Demon Edge give off the same feeling that all the other legendary weapons do?" Seph nodded slowly. "No Match Found…"

"What?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When Shinra scanned our weapons! No Match Found, that's what came up!" Ryan stated quickly. "Because they, like the rest of the legendary weapons, were made of a metal that was created in a place with lots of pyreflies."

Matt blinked as the realization settled in. "The Farplane. That's where he went…"

What matters now is _where he went_. It's _where is he now_." Seph said flatly. "We've got everyone we need, if we take the fight to him then we can stop whatever he's planning."

Matt looked Seph over and stated, "Why are you so eager to fight Yevon? From the looks of that scar you barely be _Lusniec_." Seph's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I've got my reasons." Seph said slowly. "All that matters is that Yevon is _alive_, and it's up to _us _to stop him."

"Rae. You think Rae's disappearance is connected to Yevon." Matt stated with a knowing look in his eye.

"So?" Seph demanded.

"So? So that makes it personal, and it'll make you angry when we _do _end up fighting him. Angry and _stupid_." Ryan said quietly. "Believe me, I know what it's like to fight someone when you're angry and stupid. It does _not _work." He frowned. "Seph, where's the Book of the Gods?"

Seph threw his backpack onto the bed a stated sadly, "In there. What do you need it for, anyway?" Ryan shrugged.

"I have no fucking clue." He admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Dnortih told me, in person more or less, to read the section on Lusniec."

"Ohhh, he probably wanted you to see this," Seph took the book and flipped to the same page that he'd shown the Head Priest of the Kilika Temple, and pointed to the line he'd questioned about. "It says 'Yevon crafted the soul of the man into the form he wanted of the one to protect them, and granted it the Divine Light, giving birth to an angel named Lusniec.' The Head Priest thinks-"

"Thought." Matt corrected.

"_Thought_ that it meant Yevon didn't necessarily take Lusniec's original soul." Seph said.

"What do you mean by _original _soul?" Ryan questioned without looking up from the book.

"He said something about Yevon having the power to manipulate anything that he wanted because he was so powerful." Seph hesitated. He spent the entire time after killing the priest and getting into the town wondering what the priest had meant, but he could be completely off. 'Well, can't really hurt if I am.' He decided. "I think he meant that the Lusniec we know _isn't _the real Lusniec. That Yevon took the _real _Lusniec's soul and did something to it and turned it into the Lusniec that we know."

"So Lusniec wasn't always a father fucking psychopath. Guess that's good to know." Ryan muttered absently. "Seph, you ever see this picture before?"

"No, I never really bothered to look at the pictures before. Why, something wrong?" Seph asked.

"Do you have a dragon tattoo?" Ryan asked suddenly.

"Uh… yeah. I do actually." Seph admitted. "Why?" Ryan held the Book of the Gods up to the picture that was half Seph and half Zedih.

"Look at the background. It's really faded, but there's a dragon back there." Seph squinted at the page before nodding.

"Yeah, there is." Seph agreed. "Same one I have on my back. That still doesn't tell me why it's important."

"I don't know." Ryan admitted with a shrug as he flipped through the pages until he came to Matt's picture. "Matt, wolf tattoo?"

"No." Matt stated. "I don't have any tattoos. You should know that."

"Yeah, well I didn't have any tattoos until I woke up, either." Ryan pointed out while closing the book. "So you never know. But for now I guess we'd better get that 'awesome sphere' that we were hearing about, before Paine decides to try and kill us."

"Right, that _could _be a good idea. After all, we wouldn't want our partner to get hurt." Matt said jokingly.

"Seph, we've got problems!" JT said as he shoved the door open and pulled Melody inside. "Turns out one of the guards from last night didn't die."

"So New Yevon's looking for Melody. Big deal, they won't make a move as long as she's in Youth League territory." Seph said flatly. "Use your head a little." Something bumped against the door and JT sighed and pulled Melody to the ground. "JT?"

"Duck!" The Al Bhed yelled just before the door exploded inward.

"Holy shit!" Matt yelled as water and lightning burst into existence to shield the entire group from the explosion. "What the hell are you thinking!"

"Flash bang!" Nick yelled suddenly.

"Son of a bitch! Cover your eyes!" Ryan yelled, spinning and shutting his eyes as tightly as he could. Even so he could still see the amazingly bright flash the little ball unleashed, and hear the shouts of pain from those who hadn't heeded the warning. "Nick!"

Nick rolled his eyes as the half dozen men stumbled about the hallway, shouting in pain and trying in vain to find him. "I gave you a warning this time so shut up. I'm a little busy anyway." He rested his weapon across his shoulders and tapped it against the wall impatiently. All six of the men spun around and advanced on the noise, brandishing their weapons as menacingly as they could while stumbling over their own feet and their friends to get to him.

"Nick, you got this?" Matt asked sarcastically as he led the group out of the room and in the opposite direction. "Ok, good to know. Let us when you need some help."

"Funny." Nick muttered under his breath as Seph came out, bringing up the rear of the group. "Can I help you with something, aquaman?"

Seph shook his head. "Just watching."

"Whatever." Nick shrugged his weapon off and slammed the middle of it into the hand of the first guy to reach him. Bones snapped, and dropped the sword, which embedded itself in another man's shoulder. 'That,' Nick noted with a smile, 'worked a lot better then I thought it would.' Another guy tried to jab forward with a spear and Nick grabbed it below the hilt, pulled it down, and stepped on it as he jerked it back up. "Thanks." He said to the man as he hurled the head into his leg, causing him to fall and trip up three more of his blind companions. By this time the first guy had gotten his hand on another sword and was charging Nick. A single twirls of his modified hockey stick caused the razor-sharp blade to slice neatly through the mans good hand, and then he slammed the shaft just below the spear head into the side of his foe's head, knocking him to the ground instantly.

Seph let out a low whistle. "Not bad. Not bad at all." He admitted as he looked over the battered, moaning New Yevon guards. "Come on. The Youth League will be here to pick'em up soon."

"By all means, aquaman, lead the way." Nick replied with a smirk. Seph just shook his head slightly and walked out of the hotel just as the Youth League members were coming in. "How'd they get here so fast, anyway?"

Seph nodded towards a rampart where the rest of their group was standing. "They killed three Youth League guards when they came in. That's why nobody stopped them from getting into the hotel."

"You act like you know everything." Nick pointed out with a sigh as pyreflies started to leak out of the corpses.

"No, I'm just observant." Seph replied with a shrug.

"They were after me…" Melody whispered in a horrified voice. "This is my fault."

"Actually, it's probably mine." Seph corrected. "Think about it, Melody. You were out in the _open_. If they were after you they could've watched, waited until you were alone, or it was just you and JT, or whatever." She nodded slowly.

"But why's it your fault?" Melody asked slowly.

"Why? Well, let's think about it logically. They didn't attack you, which is the first sure sign that they weren't after you, but they _did _attack the room _I _was in. And on top of all that, they _know _that I was out during the time the guards were supposed to deal with you, and that I came back alone while nobody else did. Hell girl," Seph said with a laugh, "they probably don't even know you're alive!"

"That still doesn't explain why they'd be after you." Paine pointed out.

"Right. Well… I kinda killed the Head Priest at the temple…" Seph said slowly. "Anyone who thinks he has the power to have people raped on his _orders_ and think it's a _fitting _use of his powers needs to be removed."

"Agreed, now lets talk about this on the way to the temple so that the Youth League doesn't decided that Seph's too dangerous to let live. I'd rather _not _fight an entire island…" Ryan muttered as someone with a metal leg finished his speech and ordered the corpses to be buried.

People went sprinting past the group towards the forest and Seph rolled his eyes. "Come on, their leader just got assassinated in his own room at 3 in the morning. Do you _really _think that they're just going to let us walk in?"

"And how would they know that the Head Priest was just assassinated?" JT asked dryly.

"Eh, guess that's true." Seph admitted grudgingly. "But _we _know that they're not just going to let us walk right in. What are we going to do?"

"You're the assassin." JT pointed out. "What would you do?"

"Me? I'd go in alone. But since we're not doing this alone, that doesn't exactly work." Seph replied. "So I ask again, what do we do?"

"We could just force our way in." Nick suggested absently as they walked into the forest.

"Road blocks." Sakura pointed out when they came across the first barricade, which had successfully repelled some of the less eager protestors. "This should be fun."

"You have an odd sense of fun, you know that?" Melody asked curiously when Sakura began to twirl her Tonfas.

"Most of us do." Matt admitted grimly just before they reached the barricade. "We need to pass."

"I don't think so." The guard shot back.

"You didn't even bother to ask _why _we needed to pass." Ryan pointed out.

"Not supposed to. We're here to keep our families safe from Youth League bastards like you." The man looked them over, but his gaze lingered on Seph the longest. "After all, one of you killed the Head Priest of the temple. You think we're going to let you kill anyone else?"

Nick sighed and stepped forward. "If you _don't _let us through, you won't live long enough to find out who else we _do _kill. Ok?" He whispered pleasantly.

"You think you can just threaten me?" The guard shouted as he brought his riffle up. A single twirls of Nick's modified hockey stick and half the barrel fell to the ground.

"Yes." Nick replied easily as the man looked from his destroyed gun to Nick, and back. He repeated it a few times before running off screaming about monsters. "That wasn't nice."

"Die you bastards!" The three remaining guards yelled as they leveled their own guns at him. Nick raised an eyebrow as water and lightning slammed into the guards, knocking them out completely.

Nick glanced back and said, "Thanks. That could've been messy." Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Ryan frowning, but passed it off as his friend's disapproval of their method.

"Well then, this way." Seph said as he jumped over the barrier and led the group deeper into the forest. Out of nowhere water burst into existence once again and Seph jumped to the side as bullets fell to the ground.

"Clear!" Nick yelled just before a grenade exploded from behind the barricade.

"Geez, you've got almost as many grenades as Rikku does…" Ryan muttered in disbelief.

"I doubt that." Nick countered. "I've probably got more. After all, I _was _the student of the number one demolitions expert in America for two years."

"But you were in Japan most of the time for the past two years…" Sakura pointed out.

"There was a military base there. That's where I practiced. That's also why I didn't go to public school…" Nick added with a sigh.

"Ahhh, regretting that you didn't get to meet as many girls as me and Ryan?" Matt asked jokingly.

"What? What girls?" Rikku demanded instantly.

"None! Just insane fan girls, I swear!" Ryan replied defensively.

"You're not lying to me, are you?" Rikku demanded.

"Why would I?" Ryan countered. "I mean, did _you _cheat on me?"

"No!" Rikku practically shouted. "But you had fan girls! It's not like I had fans! Only Yunie had fans!"

"Well I didn't even think about getting a girl friend these past two years, so don't worry about it." Ryan said calmly. "Besides, they were more interested in the guy that did a thousand some odd pull ups."

"A _thousand_ some odd pull ups?" Rikku repeated in disbelief. "Who can do a _thousand _some odd pull ups?"

"You called?" Matt asked jokingly. "What can I do for you?"

"The fan girls were more interested in you then Ryan?" Rikku asked hopefully.

"Well yeah. I mean, look at us! I'm not just stronger, I'm better looking as well." Matt added sarcastically.

"Right. Whatever you say." Rikku said as she turned to Ryan and hugged him. "Sorry."

"Don't mention it. Seriously. That was a scary gym class… which led to a scary week." Ryan shivered at the memory of dodging insane fan girls the rest of the week.

"I remember that!" Sakura shouted. "I remember it! I was in your gym class!"

"Really?" Matt raised an eyebrow. "I can't say I recall you being there… all of the girls were chasing me too."

"Not _all _of them." Sakura replied as she started to mess around with her hair. When she was done Matt just stared at her.

"That was _you_!" He gasped in disbelief.

"Yep." Sakura agreed as she let the braid she'd just done fall apart. "Why are you so surprised?"

"You look so different it's scary…" Matt muttered. "I mean, when you were in my gym class you were in a samurai training outfit, and it was just really different."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not…" Sakura muttered as they came across another, this time much more fortified, barricade.

"Are you the ones that have destroyed two of our barricades?" Someone behind it shouted.

"What's it to you?" Seph shouted back.

"I'm commander Zev, leader of the guards of this temple. You've killed a lot of my men you know." A giant man wearing full plate armor and carrying a war hammer as big as he was said as he walked out from behind the barricade. "I'm here to avenge them."

"Please, you?" Seph asked with a laugh. "You couldn't catch a fly in that armor, none the less someone from our group. What makes you-" Seph was cut off by a lightning bolt that sent him flying into a nearby tree.

"Shut up and draw your weapons. I'll show you how I earned command of the temple guard." Zev said as he brought his war hammer up in a pose that looked like Auron's fighting pose.

"I got this." Nick said as he stepped forward.

"Why so interested in fighting all of a sudden?" Matt questioned.

"Because I'm tired of running from fagots like 'commander Zev' ok?" Nick asked forcefully.

"Fine with me. Just wondering why you're so ready to put yourself in danger…" Matt shrugged as sat down.

"You sure he'll be ok? I mean that guys got full plate armor on." Sakura pointed out as the rest of the group made themselves comfortable.

"Big deal." Ryan said with a smile. "I give commander Zev two minutes before he'd down."

"That's an insult, isn't it?" Nick asked, ignoring a fuming commander that stood just out of striking range.

"No, just a guess." Ryan replied. "Now, fagot or not, you might want to pay attention to the fight."

"Go to the Farplane!" Zev stepped forward and slammed his war hammer down hard enough to shatter the ground. Nick let out a low whistle from next to the hole and then snapped his head back as Zev reversed his grip and brought the hammer's head up with startling speed.

"You know, if you can't hit me it doesn't matter how powerful you are…" Nick pointed out as he sidestepped another ground shattering blow. A quick jab with the spear point on the end of his weapon put the razor sharp point through the arm and into Zev's right hand. The commander snarled in pain as Nick pulled his weapon free and ducked aside as Zev started to swing his hammer around wildly with his one good hand. Another quick jab with the spearhead and Zev looked at his useless hands in horror.

"What have you done?" He shouted as he charged Nick with every intention of crushing him beneath the massive weight of his armor. Nick crouched and knocked the commander's feet out from under him.

"I suggest that you guys," Nick pointed to the men behind the barricade, "help this loser. Ok?" The men nodded quickly, grabbed their commander and took off as fast as his immense weight and thrashing would allow. "That was just too sad…"

"Whatever. You cleared the way, let's go!" Sakura urged enthusiastically.

"I'm with her." Seph said as he took the lead and sprinted towards the stairs. Just before they walked into the clearing he stopped and pointed through the trees. "Ok, there's a bunch of security check points up these stairs. Pain in the ass too."

"How do we get past them?" Ryan asked, quietly since a guard was coming closer.

"They've got some kind of password system, but I didn't have time to figure it out last night."

"I know it." Melody said quietly. "It depends on how many guards are at the checkpoints. If it's ok with every body, I'll handle the password."

"Ok with me, let's get this over with. We've got a sphere to collect." Ryan said as the group walked out into the open. Immediately four guards were there, riffles leveled at them.

"Password!" One of them barked out.

"Craven Monkey." Melody replied.

"Wrong! Get'em!" The guards opened fire as the group scattered.

"I thought you knew the password." Seph muttered as he hurled a pendulum into the back of one of the guards' skull.

"They must've changed it! There were four guards there, it should have been Craven Monkey!" Melody protested a little too loudly.

"Damn." Seph muttered when the remaining three guards turned and started to advance on their spot. "Ok, we give up! Don't shoot!" he said calmly as he stood up.

"You, run back to the temple. Tell them we have a hostage and a man down!" The man who'd ordered the attack yelled. "Ok pal, where are you friends at, huh?"

"I don't know! You started shooting, you think I was going to stick around to see where others went?" Seph asked with an amazed look on his face.

"Don't back talk me you piece of shi-" A spearhead burst through the man's chest and then an axe split the last guy's head in two.

"What kept you?" Seph demanded as Matt and Nick walked into the open, followed closely by pale-faced forms of Rikku, Yuna, and Sakura. "Where are Ryan, Paine and JT?"

"Well, that's what kept us. We couldn't decide who should go take care of the next group of soldiers." Matt said with a shrug. "We certainly didn't want to send Rikku, or Yuna, or Sakura, they didn't seem like they'd be able to handle killing someone. Paine didn't complain, and JT seemed pissed and Ryan didn't seem like he _wanted _to kill anyone, but went along anyway."

A lone soldier came stumbling down the stairs, followed a second later by JT. The young Al Bhed jumped, tackled the man, and rolled away with a bloodstain on his shirt. "Hey, hurry up would you?" He asked before running around the corpse that was now slowly creating a river of blood that was making its way down the stairs slowly.

After passing two more dead checkpoints the group found Ryan and Paine standing back-to-back in a ring of New Yevon guards. "Well don't you two just make a great couple." JT called out jokingly.

"You're going to get hurt when this is done." Paine said flatly as she knocked a sword to the side and kicked its wielder in the chest as hard as she could. The man stumbled backwards, and then found himself falling down the stairs.

"Paine, duck!" Ryan shouted suddenly. Paine obeyed and Ryan's blade flashed out and half the guards dropped while their heads rolled away. As everyone stared at Ryan, Paine jumped back to her feet and cut down the nearest two guards with a single slash of her sword. Using her momentum she elbowed another in the face so hard that he fell over the side of the steps and tumbled down the side and into the river.

"Incoming!" Seph shouted as he launched five pendulums, each one landing in the head of one of the remaining guards.

"Finally." Ryan said as he wiped the blood off of Wind Cutter before sheathing it. "What kept you?"

"We figured you'd be ok." Seph said with a shrug as Rikku looked Ryan over with a hint of fear in her eyes. "You ok Ryan?" Seph asked when he noticed the look Rikku was giving him.

The angel sighed and shook his head. "Killing fiends is one thing, killing people…"

"Get over it." Paine said flatly. "We've got a job to do."

Ryan took a deep breath and nodded. "Right. Let's go." The group sprinted up the stairs and found themselves staring down an army of guards and a giant machina.

"Looks like they knew we were coming." Seph said with a chuckle as he looked the group over.

"I had something special planned for just such an occasion!" a priest shouted before running into the temple itself.

"Need a password?" Nick asked jokingly.

"Fire!" The only guy without a riffle shouted. Immediately all of the other men opened fire.

"Nick." Matt said calmly as bullets slammed into water and lightning.

"Right." Nick said as he placed his backpack on the ground and started to dig through it. "Ok, now I just need a break in their firing…" He said as he pulled a jet-black grenade out. "Oh, and everyone? When I throw this, cover you ears and shield your eyes."

The gunfire died for a second and Nick tossed the grenade. As soon as it was in the air he turned away, squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as he could, and put his fingers in his ears.

His ears still hurt after the grenade went off. He saw spots when he opened his eyes, despite the fact that he couldn't have shut his eyes any tighter. And he smiled to himself.

At least the grenade _worked _this time. Blinking away spots he turned to see how everyone else had faired. Ryan, Matt, Seph, and TJ were shaking their heads and rubbing their eyes to get rid of the spots as well. Rikku, dazed and complaining about a massive headache, was being helped up by Sakura and Paine. Melody had a glowing hand to her left ear, which had a small trail of blood coming out of it, and Yuna was sitting on the ground crying silently.

"Yuna, you ok?" Paine asked when she noticed her friend.

"No." Yuna whispered so quietly that Nick barely heard it over the ringing in his ears. "I can't see."

"You didn't cover your eyes I take it?" Nick asked.

"I tried, but I wasn't fast enough." Yuna said in a panicking voice.

"First, calm down." Nick said calmly. "Second, don't worry. It's only a temporary effect, ok? You'll be able to see again soon."

"How soon?" Yuna asked.

"I'd say an hour or two at most." Nick said pleasantly. "But I don't know what healing magic would do. It might help it might not. Best not to risk it." He shrugged. "Sorry, Yuna."

"YSLS-Zero!" The priest who'd run away earlier shouted the order from his spot on the top of the stairs. "Attack them! Don't leave a single one alive! And you guards! Lay down a cover fire for YSLS-Zero!"

"Hey, why don't you come down onto the battle field and give the orders?" Matt yelled back to the priest as the giant machina began to move towards them. "Ok then, I guess I'll handle the machina."

"No you won't." the priest said smugly. "You'll have to deal with _him_."

"And who is this 'him' that you speak of…?" Matt prompted.

"What, think just because I _allowed _you to call it a draw you've got a chance? I don't _think _so." a horrifyingly familiar voice said with a laugh.

"That's not good…" Matt muttered as Yevon came walking down the stairs. "Ummm… girls, you might wanna take cover. This could get ugly."

"Ugly, meaning what?" Seph demanded.

"You remember what we were talking about in the hotel?" Matt asked slowly.

"Yeah…" Seph said slowly.

Ryan nodded towards Yevon. "Here he is."

"Fuck…" Seph muttered in disbelief. "You sure?"

Matt turned his hat around and nodded, "Yeah, we're sure."

Yevon laughed and yelled, "And you're _right_!" into the sky. "And since you put two and two together to get four, maybe you can put four and four together to get eight. Who _else _am I?"

"That's not a big secret either." Matt said with a sigh. "Of course, I'd rather it not be true."

"Oh, so you've figured out the second half of the mystery! Oh, good, good!" Yevon said with a laugh. "That'll make things _so _much more enjoyable! Now I don't have to hold _any _thing back!"

"You're insane." Ryan muttered under his breath.

"Yes, I _am _insane, that's why I have so much more _fun _then you guys!" Yevon shouted.

"Hey, how can you be so cocky when you ran away from _me_?" Nick asked suddenly.

"Did you not hear me when I said that I _allowed _you to call it a draw?" Yevon asked.

"Who _are _you? Only the _gods _should be able to hold their own against Matt. But all the gods are on our side!" Rikku shouted.

"Oh?" Yevon asked with an amused look. "Oh, you mean you didn't tell them? Oh, that's just great." He let out an amused laugh. "Oh, little girl, you don't know what your friends have been neglecting to tell you!"

"What are you talking about…?" Rikku asked uncertainly.

"Little girl, your _ignorance _amuses me." Yevon said with a smile. "Not _all _the gods are on your side." He dropped the blood-cloak he was wearing and revealed his hands.

"No way!" Rikku gasped when she saw the red symbol on the otherwise white gloves. "That's not possible! Why would you do this?"

"Rikku, what's wrong?" Yuna asked.

"Those are… Twin Fire Starters!" Rikku whispered in disbelief.

"Twin Fire Starters… but aren't those… Andy's?" Yuna whispered.

"Yeah… they're Andy's." Matt muttered through a clenched jaw.

"But why would Andy attack you?" Rikku shouted. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"Well you don't have the whole story yet." Yevon said with a smug smile. "You see I'm not Andy. I'm just… borrowing… his body."

"What the hell does that mean?" JT demanded. "You don't just _borrow_ a person's body, you have to rip control away from the person's soul. It'd be one thing to do that to a normal person, but to do it to a god? It's fucking impossible!"

"Unless you're god, right kid?" Yevon countered.

"Well… yeah." JT admitted.

"Well then maybe it's time I revealed who I _really _am." Yevon said with a chuckle. "You see, I'm-"

"Yevon, enough of your fucking games!" Lusniec yelled as he shoulder his way past the priest. "Ryan, you're mine."

"Oh shit…" Ryan muttered as Lusniec drew Demon Edge. "Can't you leave me the fuck alone? I've got a girlfriend, and I'm not gay. There's no way you're getting into my pants."

"Fuck you!" Lusniec yelled while he prepared a Wind Cutter.

"Sorry, that's not your job." Ryan replied with a smile he'd have given someone he secretly didn't like. 'We fight here then…' the memory of his dream came flooding back and he shivered. 'I'll have to take it somewhere else. Anywhere else.' He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again he inhaled so sharply that everyone present stared at him.

He couldn't even see them. He couldn't even hear them asking him what was wrong. He could only see one thing.

Lusniec. Everything else was pitch black.

888

"Ah, I almost forgot, I still haven't told you who I really am!" Yevon said a few seconds after Ryan and Lusniec had begun their staring match.

"Lusniec just shouted it you dumb ass." Seph said flatly.

"So he did. He never was very patient…" Yevon admitted with a shrug. "But he didn't have to ruin all my fun."

"You mean he was _right_?" Rikku whispered.

"Why would he lie?" Yevon asked simply.

"So everything we did two years ago… it was a waste?" Yuna gasped.

"A waste?" Yevon growled. "You _killed _me two years ago. _Me_!" Yevon shouted. "If it wasn't for you I would have destroyed the world _then_!" he took a deep breath and his smile of superiority returned. "Of course, you've _guaranteed_ that I'll destroy Spira, _High Summoner_."

"What'd ya mean by that?" Rikku demanded.

"You see, thinking that you'd killed me, you sent Sin. Sin is the God of _Death_. _Sin _is the only one that can _send _me. And now that you've sent him, I _can't _be sent!" Yevon said at them icily. "So in your quest to save Spira, you've only _damned it_."

888

'What the hell is going on here?' Ryan thought as he glanced around nervously. "Lusniec, what have you done?"

"What have _I _done? Try what have _you _done!" Lusniec growled as he started forward. "You're the one who brought us here, wherever _here _is. Take us back _now_!"

"Ok, let's get two things straight." Ryan said crossly. "First, I have no fucking clue where the hell we are. I can't even cast _Holy _anymore, none the less transport two people somewhere." He held a second finger. "Second, if I _had _brought us here, I would just leave your ass here where you can't reach my friends."

Lusniec laughed at him. "You're a fool! You _honestly_ believe that you can stand-alone against _my_ darkness? Against your _own _darkness?"

"_My_ darkness?" Ryan questioned. "What does _any _of this have to do with _my _darkness?"

"I _am _your darkness, dumb ass!" Lusniec roared. "I am the shadow that your light creates! The stronger _you _get, the stronger _I _get! And I was stronger then you from the start! The only way you can win is by loosing!"

"_He lies._" A voice, as fleeting and quiet as the wind itself, whispered in the back of his head. "_You need not kill him to win._"

"_You _will be the cause of your friends death!" Lusniec accused.

"_You are the only one who can save them from this creature of hatred and rage._" The voice corrected.

"You're alone against the darkness that even you precious instructor, _Auron_, couldn't defeat." Lusniec taunted.

"_You aren't Auron._" The voice pointed out.

"You friends will be consumed by _your _darkness, and _nothing _can stop it!" Lusniec shouted. "Because the darkness is generous and patient. It will _never _loose, because when all light fades away in time, and eventually there won't _be _any, and the darkness will consume _everything_. _That _is the true power of the darkness, to endure _everything _the light can do and never just _fade away_."

"_But in the heart of the its strength lies it's greatest weakness._" The voice whispered calmly. "_A single candle will forever be enough to hold it back. Let go of all your hatred and rage and desperation and you will become more then a _man_. Let go of everything and you can truly become the Light of Hope that will forever hold Lusniec's darkness back._"

_Not all who live in the darkness are lost to it. _Corran's words floated through Ryan's head as he took a deep breath.

"It would appear that we're about to begin." Lusniec muttered as he watched the darkness begin to fade away. "I hope you're ready to die."

Ryan smiled slightly. "Don't worry, I am."

"You are what?" Rikku's voice was slightly panicked.

"Why he's accepted that he's going to die." Lusniec said certainly.

"You're a real dumb-ass." Ryan muttered. 'Ok masters,' Ryan thought while picturing the Jedi who'd been his dream, "Let's see if there's anything to what you said."

Lusniec rolled his eyes and spat out, "I'm getting really tired of your ranting, so shut up and draw your sword."

"Last chance to back out, Lusniec." Ryan warned with a wryly smile. Lusniec rolled his eyes and started his charge. "Well, at least I offered."

Ryan's hand shot down to his swords, but he hesitated. Wind Cutter's hilt was warm to the touch. He took a deep breath and pulled. The blade came out, accompanied by it's own blindingly bright white light that caused Lusniec to shrink away. After several minutes the entire blade began to give off the same warmth the hilt had been giving off, and the light was slowly diminished until seeing was possible once again.

"What was _that_?" Seph demanded.

Ryan smiled to himself and muttered, "I think that's my candle."

"Candle? What the hell are you talking about, that thing's more like a fucking _sun_ then a candle." Nick stated.

"You'll need more then a glowing sword to beat me." Lusniec stated as Demon Edge started to pulse and give off a darkness that wrapped around Lusniec. "A _lot _more."

"Maybe." Ryan agreed quietly. "But maybe not."

"Wind Cutter!" Lusniec snarled as the darkness flashed towards Ryan, who simply stepped to the right and brought his guard up at the last second. Then Lusniec was there, hacking away. Demon Edge seemed to be in multiple places at once, slashing through the air almost faster then Ryan's eyes could follow.

Ryan smiled politely as the darkness pouring out of Demon Edge began to circle around him. Lusniec's demonic blade slashed down thrice a second, and Ryan batted them away. Lusniec snarled again and picked up the speed of his attack-- five per second, seven per second, nine per second- and Wind Cutter met everyone. Demon Edge pulsed again and gave off more darkness, and Lusniec launched a Holy spell at Ryan.

But he wasn't there. He wasn't fighting anymore. He wasn't thinking anymore. He wasn't even _looking _anymore. He was only doing one thing.

Humming.

In the middle of a match against his own darkness, a darkness that threatened to kill not only him but also everyone around him, everyone he cared about, Ryan began to hum. And he didn't know what song he was humming. He'd never heard it before, knew nothing about--

And yet it felt like he'd always been able to hear the chillingly beautiful notes. They came instantly, instinctively, and each note was more calming then the last. The longer he hummed the more warmth Wind Cutter gave off. It wrapped around him, and then drifted out and wrapped around everyone there.

888

"Well I do think that it's time we started our _own _rematch, wouldn't you agree Matt?" Yevon asked with a chuckle.

"You know, your chuckling is getting really annoying…" Seph muttered as all forty of his pendulums dropped into the ground.

"Fine then. Let's just get this under way, shall we?" Yevon asked in a business-like manner as he reached into the folds of his cloak and pulled out a blood-red mace and morning star.

"With pleasure, jerk-off." Matt said as he drew Lightning Edge and his other axe that he'd named Off-Hand.

"Aqua Wheel." Seph whispered while Matt charged into melee. The small disk of water formed in his hand just in time to prevent a wave of gray fire from burning through his chest. Instead, the water twisted and contorted, absorbed the fire and used the energy behind the spell to expand to twice the size it'd been when Seph had used it against Lusniec. "Yevon, what did you do with Rae?" Seph asked as his pendulums began to float into the sphere.

"Me?" Yevon asked with an amused look. "I only made sure she didn't get word of my plans to you, that's all. If you're worried about her health, don't be. She's perfectly fine, and living in a room something along the lines of your pent house sweet in Bevelle."

"Where. Is. She?" Seph demanded slowly.

"Where? Oh, she's living with the Lydc." Seph's heart skipped a beat at Yevon's statement but his face remained ice-cold. "You know, the cat people that I wrote about in _my _book? The Book of the Gods?"

"I know, shit face." Seph said with a slight grin as his attack started to move forward. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to end this so that I can go rescue Rae." Chains of water shot up and wrapped around Yevon's ankles, trapping him where he stood.

"Please, Seph. Hate me all you want, but do _not_ underestimate me." Yevon shouted as the chains evaporated instantly.

"Shit…" Matt muttered as they dove opposite directions to avoid Seph's attack. Before he'd even hit the ground he twisted his head and launched a lightning bolt at Yevon that took the god by surprise, but didn't get through his shield of gray fire.

"Nice try!" Yevon shouted back as he skidded to a landing and fired a familiar blue beam at Matt.

"Please." Matt said disappointedly as he brought Lightning Edge up. The beam slammed into and then shot back at Yevon and caught him right in the chest. "Guess our elemental shields don't stop our own attacks."

"Looks that way." Seph agreed as water wrapped around Yevon. "Water and Iron Maiden!" Yevon's eyes went wide as all forty of Seph's pendulums shot through the thin, but impossibly strong layer of water. Blood splattered onto the ground as the water disappeared and Seph's pendulums flew back to him on strings of water.

"Yevon!" Matt yelled. "Why don't you take a breather? After all, you're fighting two gods."

Yevon snarled and thousands of blue beams shot out of his body in every direction that one of his foes stood. Matt and Seph slashed and danced and blue beams flew back at Yevon, slamming into a wall of gray energy.

"Dnortih preserve us…" Matt whispered when he saw that a giant wave of beams was heading towards the Sakura, Nick, JT, Melody, and the Gullwings. Sakura slammed a hand into the ground and a wall of ice shot up in front of the group. The beams slammed into it, but bounced off instead of going through, launching hundreds more beams back at Yevon to be absorbed by his magical barrier.

"Ice goddess…" Seph muttered approvingly. "Very nice."

"She's not normally that good with magic." Matt said with a relieved chuckle. "Must have been the conditions."

"Life or death choices do tend to force people to do stuff they can't normally do." Seph agreed as Yevon's barrier faded away.

"So that's the power of Usi's successor?" Yevon asked with a raised eyebrow. "Impressive… for a newbie."

"Don't you think you've got more pressing matters then being impressed by Sakura?" Matt asked as he brought Off-Hand down in an overhead swing. Yevon barely got a guard up in time to avoid being cut in half, and even with that his guard Off-Hand scratched Yevon's mask. "Come, Yevon. You're disappointing me. I thought you'd be better then this." A bolt of lightning shot off the edge of the axe and slammed into Yevon's barrier.

"Try again." Yevon growled through clenched teeth.

Matt's reply to Yevon's suggestion was to regard Yevon with a twinkle of gentle amusement in his eyes. "If you insist."

Immediately the weight of Off-Hand disappeared as Matt rolled to the right, several powerful bolts of lightning slamming into Yevon's magical shield as he did so. As Yevon turned to keep Matt in his view a dozen pendulums flew through his side, but Yevon didn't have time to do anything about it. Off-Hand was already flying at his head, and only a desperate whirling, rising parry with both his own weapons allowed him to keep his head.

Then Lightning Edge was there, and Yevon barely jumped back in time to prevent being gutted. He launched a Flare spell into Matt's stomach with enough force to send him flying backwards a dozen feet and into a rather jagged rock, possibly skewering his heart. Wouldn't that have been lovely?

He didn't have time to enjoy his small victory though. Seph's pendulums were everywhere, weaving through his normal defenses impossibly fast. Another Flare spell incinerated twelve of the pendulums in a half second, but three pendulums skewered his right hand, severing something and making it useless, was his reward. Out of the corner of his eye Yevon saw Matt getting back up and decided that it was time to stop messing around.

It was time to kill. Vena's power merged with his own and a bird began to take shape in front of him, gray and featureless, but familiar nonetheless. "Suzaku!"

"Leviathan!" Seph shouted. Instantly the Chinese water-dragon appeared in front of him, waiting patiently for its orders.

"Yamu!" Matt yelled as lightning burst through the air and formed into a wolf that growled at Yevon. "You can't win, Yevon. Two on one, your move."

"You underestimate me." Yevon pointed out in a voice so calm it was terrifying. "You see," a dark hole appeared in the ground in front of him, and Seph and Matt felt their hearts skip a beat, "I created the Fayth. Their dreams are _my _dreams." A giant chain appeared in the sky and everyone watching the fight, even Sakura and Nick who weren't familiar with Aeons, felt their hearts drop with the hook that dropped into the hole. "Mind you I can only have _one _Aeon out at a time, it's still enough to even the odds, right Anima?"

"Fuck…" Seph whispered as the Aeon was pulled out of the ground. "This is really… really… bad."

"Yeah." Matt agreed instantly.

"Well, I must admit, you two did much better then I expected. So much better, in fact, that I'm going to leave your fates up to you. Until next time," Yevon bowed and stepped backwards into a portal that had just appeared.

"Leviathan!" the dragon shot out and slammed into Suzaku. The two titans battle, throughout the sky, blast of ice cold water colliding with bursts of flames that could melt through twelve feet of solid steel in seconds colliding in a dazzling display of aerial power until the steam had completely obscured the two from view.

While Suzaku and Leviathan amazed the people from the sky, Yamu amazed the people on the ground. Without a seconds hesitation it launched itself at Anima, dodging blasts of energy by the width of a hair and riposting with burst of lightning that slammed into the Dark Aeon with devastating results. Bandages burned away and revealed the warped flesh underneath with every blast. With a single jump it cleared two dozen feet and landed on the Aeon's face, tearing into it with gleeful abandon, ignoring the blasts of energy that were tearing its body to pieces. When it was finally forced to accept the fact that it was too wounded to continue fighting it latched onto Anima's face and sent all of the lightning that remained in its body surging into the Dark Aeon's solitary eye. Anima roared in pain before slouching to the ground and fading away into pyreflies.

888

Lusniec felt rage coursing through him, and used it to push his attacks to a new level. His blade flashed through the air and rained blows down with amazing power up to fifteen times a second.

Ryan's defense started to falter. Lusniec seized upon his foe's weakness and continued to increase the number of attacks per second--sixteen per second, eighteen per second- until finally Ryan's defense was overwhelmed at twenty. Wind Cutter flew away and Lusniec felt the rush of victory course through his body.

Ryan hummed louder, the notes coming out loud enough for Lusniec to hear. The angel's eyes widened in amazement, and he hesitated for a full two seconds.

Ryan didn't. Shinagami cleared its sheath as Ryan spun to the left, and met the killing blow not at the blade.

It met at Lusniec's wrist. The angel, seeing what Ryan was doing, slowed his strike down an instant before Ryan's counter met. Instead of losing his right hand his blood exploded from it and he lost the ability to use it at all.

'This,' Lusniec thought as he jumped backwards, 'could be bad.' He used the last bit of magic he had to heal the wound and stop the bleeding. Unfortunately his right hand was still useless. 'And why was he humming that song?'

"_Summon him_." The voice whispered in the back of his head. "_He will come for you if you believe_." An image of a familiar face flashed through his head. "_He _will _come_." The voice whispered again reassuringly. A black rift appeared in the air in front of him. "_Strike it. He is waiting_."

Shinagami flashed and the tear expanded and changed shape. Exhaustion washed over him, and Ryan found himself lying on the ground, blinking away red and black spots that dotted his vision. He felt himself get pulled to his feet and then Rikku was looking at him.

"You ok man?" Matt asked as he held Ryan up.

"I… think so." Ryan said slowly, not by choice but because he found it amazingly difficult to talk. 'Maybe I broke my jaw.'

"You're going to want to see this." Matt said as he slowly turned Ryan around. Hundreds of guards, along with Melody and JT, were bowing to him.

"What the hell?" Ryan asked

"That." Matt turned and Ryan followed Seph's finger. He blinked, amazed at what he saw.

_They are the dream of anyone who truly wishes for their help. _Ryan finally found himself understanding Braska's words from two years ago as a tear rolled down his eye. One word escaped his lips before he passed out once again. The name of a friend he hadn't seen in years.

"Kaze."

* * *

so, did _anyone _see Kaze coming back? _Anyone_? ah, well, lemme know if you did. _**OH YEAH I ALMOST FORGOT!** _I'd like to thank labrat-seph for proving to me that i didn't accept annomyous (wow, spelled that way wrong) reviews. i kept forgetting to thank her, so THANK YOU! So for all of those people who _don't _have accounts, feel free to drop a revivew or two, and if it doesn't work send me an e-mail to with _review _as the subject and i'll still reply to it along with trying to fix the stupid option. anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Read, and for the sake of all that is good and pure in the world, REVIEW! 


	8. Preperations

ok people, even tho someone got suspended from for replying to reviews... i'm going to keep replying. if they wanna throw me off i will _find _a way to get my story to you, even if i have to e-mail it all to you myself, ok? ok, now that that's out of the way, please leave your e-mail when you reply from now on...

Auron's Fan: wow... long review, nee-chan! ok, yes, yevon admitted he was insane. that's because he's insane. and yes, i hum. more on that in this chapter, full explenation... pending. yeah, i brought kaze back, tho i think a lot of people expected it. yes, that chapter had a lot of action, more then this one, tho this one's pretty much a filler chapter... and nick is one of the few people to fight, so rejoice! yeah, seph kicks ass and can still assassinate fat old guys... and you're not as crazy as _Yevon_... yet...as for what happens to seph when they rescue rae... you'll just have to wait.. just like i have to wait to see ryan and auron spar!

Anasazi Darkmoon- no, it wasn't the hymn of the fayth. but you do find out more about it in this chapter... so, like you said, keep reading! and yes, sakura _will _get a summon. just working on when to actually have her summon it...

lightningwizard- heh, long time no see! welcome back, i guess that'd be appropriate. yeah, i know, the strongest god wrote the book of the gods, go figure, blah blah blah. yes, it was meant to be obvious. and when do i kid about major battles? ther _are _major, after all.

labrat-seph- yeah, i figured you'd have it figured out before the chapter. you seem to be really good at that. the voice? well, if you can't figure it out after this chapter, but you still figured out kaze... that's just... well, sad. anyway, Book of the Gods will probably be the title, but its only part of it. the actual book that i'm writing is only gonna be how they became gods and what not. the one in the story is a complete volume of their entire... several thousand year lives, their powers, everything.

Da KeR MysTeRr- yeah... the words 'awesome chapter' show up a lot in my inbox now... and who was it that reviews your story that reviews mine too now? i know i knew it but i can't remember. of course the lords were going to tie into the spirian gods. they're exactly the same thing.. same domains... everything... and don't expect to see _too _much of Kaze... tho you will see more evenutally. as for ryan getting more and more interesting... heh, wait till you see who starts to get interesting in _this _chapter... its not ryan that's for sure. yes, i was shooting for funny when i was writing the opening dialouge. and you said your friends sounded like mine so... yes... i _was_ in fact, wondering. as for yuna loosing her touch... well... lets just say we haven't seen the last of her drunken fits . so until you get this, toodles!

SLy- Never mind Da KeR! I found the person you mentioned... SLy says to update 'Adjusting to a new Life' anyway... i'm starting to think people only like my story for the fight scenes, to be honest... cries maybe i should write fight scenes for other people... if that's true it'd boost their reviews, right? eh, anyway... _how could you forget about Kaze?_ that's just not nice...

shadowkiller27- heh, wow, you _didn't _see Kaze coming back? as for your story... i'll see what i can do... i haven't been very goodat reading other fics right now... can't seem to make the time... but i'll try.

bstgoalie31- yeah, nick got some sense and didn't run away with the girls. sakura not helping? well... she's still new at this... she's only been doing it a few weeks as compared to everyone else's 2+ years... and why does lusniec want to ass rape ryan so much? go back and read 2 Fallen Gods, i think i explain it in there somewhere...

CeE CrOw- your mom made you play scrabble? that bad? i dunno, i don't play scrabble... anyway, Da KeR's impatient.. didn't know that. well at least you reviewed, even if you didn't say much.

Bladed Staff- yeah, i know you. leave a longer review whenver possible... i'm glad you like Kaze... most people did/do...

and that's that people...

* * *

Preperations

"Melody, what's wrong with him?" Rikku asked when Ryan didn't wake up after an hour.

"I dunno." Melody admitted quietly as she stared at the bed Ryan was in.

"Well figure it out!" Rikku shouted to no one in particular.

"Quiet down." JT said calmly. "Calm down, too. And let go of Melody." He added when Rikku picked the white mage up by the collar of her robes. Reluctantly Rikku let the white mage down, and slumped into a chair.

"Why is it always Ryan?" she asked quietly.

"Because he's a crazy bastard." Nick said jokingly.

"Not funny." Rikku said simply.

"Don't worry about him." JT said as he pushed off of the wall and started towards the door.

"Why shouldn't we?" Yuna asked quietly. "He's not poisoned, he has no physical wounds, and with the amount of healing magic Melody used on him he should have all his strength back."

"He'll be fine." JT said again.

"You know something." Seph said after JT hadn't said or moved anything for a few minutes. "What is it?"

"Nothing that would make any sense to any of you." JT said slowly.

"Oh, but it makes sense to you?" Rikku asked through clenched teeth.

"Yes, it does." JT admitted with a slight smile.

"And why, JT, does it makes sense to you and not us?" Matt asked as he put a restraining hand on Rikku's shoulder.

JT took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Because I can hear it. Even over all the yelling and talking in the room, the roar of the engines, the creeks and moans of the Celsius, I can _still_ hear it." He turned back to the confused people staring at him. "And it's something you can't understand until you hear it on your own."

"Hear what?" Paine asked.

"The mind is dark. The skill is burnished to radiance. The body is formless as a shadow." JT's words drifted through the deathly quite room. "Turn you ears to all voices and songs. The Wind Song sounds, and all else ends."

After several seconds of staring Matt walked over to Ryan. "Wake up damn it." He muttered before slapping him across the face. Everyone in the room but Nick and Seph gasped in surprise, and then again as Nick copied the act.

"Seriously. We've got no time to be sleeping on the job." Nick added in an annoyed voice.

"Hey! You can't just start slapping him!" Rikku shouted, already closing in on the two.

"Relax. He's fine… for now." Matt muttered absently as he pulled a feather out of Ryan's pillow. "Nick, go get some shaving cream."

"I don't think so you two." Sakura said as she grabbed them both by an ear. "Ryan-kun's been through enough for one day."

"What are you talking about?" Nick protested. "He barely got hurt!"

"Doesn't matter. I didn't see _you _fighting anyone who could move faster then you could see." Sakura countered, which caused Nick to mutterer under his breath and Matt to chuckle.

"JT, what did that whole 'Wind Song' thing mean?" Seph asked, more to distract everyone from the fight that was about to break out between Sakura and Nick then to get any answers.

"I'm not sure I can explain it myself." JT admitted with a little shrug. "It's something you've gotta see… or hear. But I've never met anyone else that could hear it, until today."

"Ok, then what is it?" Seph asked.

"It's the song of the wind." JT said helplessly. "I dunno when it first appeared, or if it was created. I don't know anything about it really. Only that it's one _hell _of a gift."

"Ok, what _can _you tell us about it?" Seph asked while trying to keep his annoyance from showing.

"Nothing. I don't really know anything about it, or did I not say that?" JT asked sarcastically. "But, I might be able to show you."

"Show us?" Seph repeated skeptically. Suddenly he found himself _not _liking where this conversation was going.

"Yeah." JT walked out into the hallway, motioning for the group to follow him. When they were all standing on the deck he turned to Seph and said, "Attack me."

"Why?" Seph questioned.

"Just shut up and attack me." JT said before he began to hum quietly. Seph shrugged and a pendulum shot through the air. JT frowned and simply moved his head. "I meant for _real_, Seph. No holding back."

"Dude, you can barley stay on your feet when we spar." Seph said with a chuckle. "And you want me to try and kill you?"

"Yes." JT said with a slight smile.

"Rae is going to kill me for this, too…" Seph muttered as all of his remaining pendulums dropped onto the deck.

"Wait, you're _really_ going to try and kill him?" Matt asked.

"Well, he _did _ask for it." Seph pointed out. "JT… it was nice knowing you."

"I'm not dead yet, Seph." JT pointed out.

"_Yet_." Seph muttered under his breath as his pendulums flashed through the air. JT smiled slightly and closed his eyes. In the back of his mind a chillingly beautiful song began to play in the back of his mind.

"_Jump forward._" A voice whispered to him. JT launched forward as far as he could and Seph's pendulums slammed into the deck. "_He's in front of you._" JT used his momentum to roll forward, and before anyone could do anything Seph was sitting on his butt rubbing his bruised chest.

"Where did _that _come from?" He demanded as JT opened his eyes. "You couldn't even _see _me."

"Don't have to." JT said with a smug smile.

"Right. My _heartbeat _gave me away, right?" Seph asked sarcastically. He was going to say something else but it died in his throat when the wind picked up, bringing with it the notes of the Wind Song.

"And there it is. The melody of the Wind Song." JT said with a yawn. "This is the song that Ryan heard while he was fighting Lusniec." The group just stared at him. "And the reason he hasn't woken up yet is 'cause he used it so much."

"But all that healing magic was enough to heal _anything_!" Melody insisted.

"Well healing magic can only do so much. The strain it put on the body was healed easily. But Ryan's probably still asleep because of the fact that he used it too much." JT said simply.

"Used it too much? You can use it too much?" Nick asked skeptically.

"Yeah. Think of all living creatures as being split in half." JT said slowly. "One half is their physical self, the part that gets tired and hurt, stuff like that. The other half is their spiritual self. Most techniques use up the strength of the physical half. Magic is one of the very few exceptions to this rule. Magic draws a little bit of power from the spiritual self. The Wind Song uses massive amounts of the spiritual half's power. Ryan probably feels like he hasn't stopped casting third level spells for the past thirty years."

"Is he gonna be alright?" Rikku asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he just needs to relax." JT said reassuringly.

'Oh, this is going to be fun.' Nick thought to himself. 'Where'd that shaving cream go?'

"And maybe have Matt and Nick kept away from him… or have the shaving cream kept away from Nick at least. He's already wondering where it is." JT added absently as he walked through the group and into the elevator.

"What!" Sakura demanded angrily as she whirled around to find Nick already in the elevator. "Get _back_ here!"

"It was Matt's idea originally!" Nick shouted defensively while pounding the button to close the door as quickly as he could.

"He's right." Sakura stated as she whirled around to face Matt.

"Don't look at me. I don't usually have to be told twice." He said simply.

"Traitor!" Nick shouted as the elevator closed. "How'd you know I was thinking that?" He asked as he turned to face JT who smiled.

"It's a secret." He said simply as they hit the button for the deck.

"Geez, made me wonder if you can read minds." Nick muttered.

"Perhaps I can." JT replied, smiling inwardly at the fact that he really could. And the fact that nobody, not even Rae or Seph, knew that he could do it.

"If you can what am I thinking now?" Nick asked as he pictured himself in his mind.

JT sighed and muttered, "Yourself you arrogant, egotist."

"Wow… now what?" He shifted it to a picture of his weapon.

"Your fucked up weapon." JT said simply as he walked out of the elevator.

"You really _can_, can't you?" Nick asked in disbelief.

"Maybe I'm just lucky." JT pointed out.

"Lucky my ass." Nick stated as they walked through the hallways to the rooms. He ducked into his room and came back out brandishing his hockey stick. "Hey, JT."

"What?" JT asked as he turned around slowly and sighed when he saw Nick brandishing the weapon. "You _really _want to spar with me after what I just did?"

Nick grinned and nodded. "See, I'm the kind of guy that likes to test himself. And you just kicked Seph when he was using all his pendulums, and you can read minds."

"You're insane." JT pointed out.

"You _just _noticed?" Nick countered with a slight smile. "Thought you could read minds."

"Only when I feel like it." JT said with a sigh. "But we can't fight. Not here anyway."

"Why's that?" Nick questioned.

"It's too crowded for you to use your… _thing_… properly, isn't it?" JT asked. Nick glanced around and sighed. "When we land for the night we'll have our match. One-on-one, away from… _prying_… eyes." JT nodded behind him to where Seph was watching them with an amused grin.

"You do realize there's only _one _place in the Celsius that you could do that, right? The deck?" Seph pointed out.

"Yeah, which means you'll be there. Which means we'll have prying eyes anyway…" JT concluded with a sigh.

"Hey, you're getting better at that." Seph pointed out. "All I did was point out that you had to fight on the deck."

"Whatever." JT said through a yawn. "If you'll excuse me now," he said with sarcastic politeness, " I'm going to go to bed."

"Whatever." Nick replied as he walked into his own room. Seph shook his head in amusement.

"Such fragile egos." He muttered before heading into his own room.

888

"So you really think Seph's going to find you?" Kitty asked through a yawn when Rae finally put the Book of the Gods down.

"Yeah. He'll come." Rae said confidently. "The question is _when_?" Kitty curled up as much as she could, which resulted in her taking up a single cushion rather then the entire couch. Rae smiled to herself and took an odd comfort that, despite the fact that Kitty knew Rae was on the edge of a breakdown, she could still go to sleep just like any other night.

"He'll be here soon, Rae." Kitty whispered quietly, already starting to fall asleep as Rae sat down next to her.

"Yeah. He'll be here soon." Rae repeated quietly as she watched the Lydc that had practically become her little sister drift into a gentle sleep. 'And then you'll finally be able to see the surface, just like you always wanted to.'

888

Gippal took a deep breath to calm himself as he stared at the person he'd been following for two days. It'd taken the Machina Faction a little time, a week in all, but they'd finally managed to find someone that was seen in the same general area as Rae multiple times in the two days before she'd disappeared.

And that person just happened to have been identified as a rouge Lydc by Baralai, the Praetor of New Yevon. As soon as Baralai had seen the sphere of the dude he'd brought out a giant book called the Book of the Gods, something that even the Machina Faction's amazing intelligence network hadn't known about. After reading the description of the Lydc, and submitting to Baralai's wish that he tell no one about the book, Gippal had decided it was too dangerous to send anyone else on the mission.

So now he found himself slipping through the crowd of people in Guadosalam, tailing a species that hadn't been seen for millions of years until now. Outwardly he was completely calm, nodding to every hot woman he saw as he normally did, but inwardly his heart was racing. The book hadn't mentioned anything about the fighting tactics of Lydc, and the fact that they'd captured Rae so easily didn't sit well with him.

'But Rae wasn't a member of the Crimson Squad.' Gippal reminded himself as he ducked into an alley to follow the Lydc. When he entered he had to blink to make sure he was seeing the alley properly. When he was sure his eye wasn't fooling him his heart started to beat harder. The alley was empty.

"Who the hell are you?" The Lydc demanded in a deep voice from behind him.

'So much for the Crimson Squad being elite.' Gippal thought with a sigh. "My name's Gippal. I'm looking for the woman you kidnapped three weeks ago." He said politely as he raised his hands above his head slowly.

"What you want with her?" The Lydc demanded.

"She's a good friend of mine. I want to see her." Gippal said calmly.

"Heh, alright, sure." The Lydc practically purred before Gippal felt something sharp jab into his heck. "Nighty, night Cyclops." The Lydc muttered as the tranquilizer caused Gippal to sway and then drop to the ground. Just before he passed out he bit down and smiled when he heard a crack.

Everything was going according to plan after all.

888

Kitty's ears twitched and she looked up lazily just before the guard outside banged on the door and shouted, "Hey you two, wake up. You've got a guest."

"A guest…?" Kitty repeated sleepily as the door open and a guy with spiky blonde hair and an eye patch was pushed into the room, and over the couch. Kitty hissed instinctively and she quickly maneuvered herself between Rae and the newcomer who they now could see had his hands bound behind his back.

"Ow…" The man muttered into the floor. "A little help please?"

"Gippal?" Rae shouted in disbelief as she ran over and flipped the man over. "Oh my god, it really _is _you!"

Before he said anything Gippal turned his head to the side and spit out a tooth. "Like I said," He said when he saw their disgusted looks, "Ow."

Rae sighed and nodded. "Oh yeah, that's definitely Gippal alright." She declared. "Relax, Kitty. He's more or less harmless… but be careful. He's a player."

Gippal's face was taken over by a mock-hurt look and he questioned, "Who, me?"

"Yeah, _you_." Rae replied as she untied his hands. "Touch Kitty and I'll gut you, got it?" She whispered as she did it. Gippal just sighed and nodded.

"You take all the fun out of life." He muttered as he rubbed his wrists as he walked over and picked up the tooth and smiled.

"I know you're a guy and you wanna look macho and all," Rae said as she watched him pocket the tooth, "But that's just disgusting. I mean, do you _really _need to keep a tooth you had knocked out?"

"Tooth?" Gippal repeated curiously. "Who said it was a tooth?"

"What do you mean by that?" Kitty demanded, suddenly feeling rather unsettled by the man.

"Well, we figured that since anyone who went after Rae wouldn't be reporting back any time soon," Gippal pulled out the tooth and held it up, "so we decided that we'd just track the person."

"You mean the Machina Faction knows _exactly _where this place is?" Rae asked with a hint of panic.

"No. _One _Al Bhed knows exactly where this place is. And that one Al Bhed is going to tell _Seph _exactly where this place is." Gippal corrected. "Then _Seph _is going to come get us."

"Kitty, you need to go talk to your elders. Tell them that they can't attack Seph." Rae said without trying to hide the panic in her voice. "If they do, he'll kill them all."

"He won't be alone, either." Gippal mentioned calmly. "JT's with him, and from what I've heard so are Yuna, Paine, and Rikku. Along with a girl named Sakura, a kid named Nick, Matt, and Ryan."

Rae's eyes widened at the mention of the last two names, and Kitty didn't miss it. "Who're Matt and Ryan?" She demanded.

"Matt's the god of Lightning. Ryan's Lusniec's heir." Rae said as she sunk into the couch.

"You mean Ryan's the heir to the surface's Protecting Lord?" Kitty asked in amazement.

"Yeah..." Rae said numbly. "But they shouldn't be back for another year…"

"Well they're here. And they're coming…" Gippal crushed the tracking device between his thumb and forefinger, "right about now."

"Wait, what about Andy?" Rae asked curiously.

"Sir Andy? The legendary Pyro-Guardian?" Gippal shrugged. "Wasn't with them as far as I'm aware."

"Another visitor!" The guard outside yelled before Yevon walked through the door.

"That's because Andy's right here." Yevon said simply.

"Yevon!" Rae whispered with a groan. Immediately a pair of revolvers was in Gippal's hands and a wall of gray flames shot up, burning the bullets to cinders.

"Care to try again?" Yevon asked smugly when Gippal stopped shooting.

"You really _are _Yevon…" The Machina Faction leader muttered in disbelief.

"Yes. And I've possessed your friend Andy as well. So now, rather then having only my own powers, I have the powers of the god of fire as well."

'Oh.' Gippal thought to himself as Yevon closed the door. 'Oh, this is _bad_.'

888

"Vena, to what do I owe the honor?" Dnortih questioned as Vena burst into existence.

"I need to tell you something." Vena said flatly.

Dnortih raised an eyebrow. "If this is about Andy I already know Yevon's taken him."

"Shut up and listen." Vena ordered. "Andy isn't lost completely, not yet."

"So what?" Dnortih asked slowly. "It's just a matter of time and you know it."

"Not necessarily." Vena corrected."Andy's not gone, Dnortih. Yevon doesn't realize it, but he doesn't have all of Andy's power yet."

"What are you getting at?" Dnortih demanded. "What part of Andy's power does Yevon not have?"

Vena smiled.

888

"_All passengers, please report to the bridge for a message from the Machina Faction!_" Buddy's voice demanded over the intercom. In under a minute everyone on the Celsius, even Ryan who was complaining about being woken up by Buddy's voice and barely able to breath because of Rikku's hug, was on the bridge.

"What's up? Why's the Machina Faction contacting us?" Yuna wondered aloud as Buddy turned just enough to face the group.

"Apparently Gippal's gone missing." Buddy said flatly.

"Poppie!" Rikku complained. "And they want us to go find him, right?"

"No. Apparently _Seph _asked them to help him find someone named… Rae." Buddy said after looking back to the message. "Something involving the New Yevon Praetor, Baralai, caused Gippal to totally redo the plan the day before it was carried out. They've got his coordinates, somehow."

"Wherever he is, Rae is." Seph stated, glancing around at the Gullwings hopefully.

"Let's go get her!" Yuna and Rikku suggested at the same time.

"We're Sphere Hunters, not a rescue service." Paine pointed out.

"Relax, Paine-chan. What's the worst that could happen?" Sakura questioned with a friendly pat on the shoulder. Paine glared at the ice goddess and Sakura quickly stepped away.

"It's going to cost you." Paine said after a long, awkward silence that had everyone staring at her.

Matt chuckled quietly and muttered, "Mercenary." Paine glared at him and he bowed his head politely.

"OK Gullwings!" Brother shouted enthusiastically. "To… where are we going again?"

"Some cave outside of Guadosalam. They've given us the coordinates, but it doesn't look like the airship will be able to get us there completely. We'll have to go in by foot…" Buddy said slowly.

"Or we could drop out of the airship." Seph pointed out. "How many people would be expecting that?"

"Well whatever we do, we won't be there until tomorrow anyway." Shinra pointed out. "Perhaps we should all get some sleep. I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a long day."

"Why's that?" Matt asked as the group began to disperse and head to their own rooms.

"How should I know?" Shinra demanded. "After all, I'm only a kid."

888

"So this is what one of the famed Crimson Squad members is capable of?" Yevon questioned as he tossed a nearly dead Gippal into a corner absently. "I was expecting more…"

"Gippal…" Rae whispered in astonishment as she ran over to him. He said something that she couldn't understand, and when she bent down and lifted his head up a little she understood why. "You bastard! You broke his jaw!"

"Only his jaw?" Yevon asked politely. "Well, I must admit, I'm somewhat surprised. That would've crushed most people's wind pipe as well…" He shrugged as if it didn't matter and sat down on the couch, enjoying how quickly Kitty scrambled off the couch and interposed herself between Yevon and Rae.

"What do you want?" Rae demanded as she helped Gippal to his feet and led him over to a couch where he slid into the seat and glared at Yevon.

"Me? I want the _gods _to _suffer_. I want your _boyfriend _to _suffer_." Yevon said simply. "I want to _enjoy_ myself for awhile, before this entire planet is wiped out completely."

"Jeez, you're psychotic…" Rae said with a shake of her head. "You _honestly_ think that you can beat them? Even _with _all of your powers, you will _never _win."

"Oh really?" Yevon asked with a twinkle of amusement in his eye. "And do tell, why is that?"

"You're only looking out for yourself! All you care about is you and your power. The people you're fighting aren't fighting to kill everyone, they're fighting to save everyone."

"Oh, please, spare me your speech on friendship being strength, will you?" Yevon snapped. "Friendship is nothing but a weakness to be exploited by your enemies, love is the same thing, a weakness meant to be exploited. Your friends may have bested me _once _but it won't happen again."

Rae's heart skipped a beat and she felt, for the first time since she'd woken up in the grimy cell she'd been in originally, like her situation wasn't as bad as she thought. After all, they'd beaten Yevon once before, they'd beat him again. "Guess you aren't quite as strong as you thought, eh Yevon?"

"Ha. That's funny." Yevon said, raising a glass in a toast. "Well then, may you forgive them when you're all reunited on the Farplane. Along with all the other souls of Spira." He grinned. "Unfortunately, I doubt that they'll be as understanding as you. Once they find out that your friends couldn't stop my plan, they'll torture them. For all eternity. And if I've learned one thing about the people of Spira over the years, it's this: There are many who are just as evil as me. And they're going to have _all eternity _to learn new techniques to use on your boyfriend and the other gods."

"You're wrong. They'll stop you." Rae said with more confidence then she had. "After all, Seph's target's _never _get away."

"Oh, I have no intention of running next time I fight them. I do, however, plan to win." Yevon smiled. "Besides, I can't be sent, remember?"

"What does 'sent' mean?" Kitty asked when Yevon had left.

"When someone dies on the surface, their soul needs to be _sent _to the Farplane, the after life. If not, they'll turn into fiends and attack anyone that lives that they come across, or they become an 'unsent' which is a person who keeps their physical body, but its not natural. They still feel hatred and anger towards those who live, and are more likely to snap then most people." Rae explained quietly. "Yevon's an unsent. The only way to actually beat him is to kill him again, and send him. But now… the god of death, the only being strong enough to send him, is dead. I was there. I helped kill it two years ago… I helped to damn Spira…"

Kitty's ears twitched slightly as she considered what Rae had just told her. "I don't get it, though." She said slowly. "If the god of death is dead, then why don't you just find his successor, or heir? I mean, all the other gods have successors or heirs, don't they? What's to say the god of death didn't?"

Rae blinked at her friend as the concept slowly sunk in. "Oh my god… I never even considered that… never even _thought _about it…" she grabbed Kitty and hugged her so tightly that Kitty had trouble breathing.

"Air!" she gasped desperately.

"Oh, sorry." Rae said as she let Kitty go and whirled around and pulled out the Book of the Gods. Sitting down in-between Gippal, who had given up talking for the time being, and Kitty she opened the book and flipped until she found the picture of the Death Lord. "Ok, this is the Death Lord, the God of Death." She said, pointing to the white haired half, "And this is his heir…" She pointed to the second half. "Only… I've never seen anyone like him before."

Gippal mumbled something and Kitty and Rae just stared at him as he jabbed the second half of the picture. "I think he knows who the heir is…" Kitty stated slowly. Gippal nodded his head furiously and looked at Rae.

"Well I don't." Rae said with a sigh, which in turn caused Gippal to slap himself in the forehead. "What? I can't help it if I've never seen the guy before!"

"Hang on… I'll go get a healer." Kitty said as she stood up and headed for the door.

Gippal started jabbing the paper again and Rae sighed. "Look, I don't know who it is! Get over it!" She shouted, but Gippal continued to jab the picture. "Ahuikr, ahuikr! Oui'na kejehk sa y vilgehk pnieca oui yccruma! (Enough, enough! You're giving me a fucking bruise you asshole!)." Rae shouted as she started to look at the spot he was pointing at. "Okay, it's a sword, big deal?" Gippal started to jab the paper so hard that Rae had to move her leg, positive that she already had a hell of a bruise. "Sword… sword… what about the sword!" she demanded. Gippal let out a helpless groan and Rae squinted at the weapon.

"Oh my god…" She whispered, realizing she'd seen it before. "But that's… not possible…"

888

"Hey, it's the psycho-psychic!" Nick shouted pleasantly as JT stepped out of the elevator. "Ready?"

JT stepped into the middle of the deck and nodded. "And don't call me a psycho-psychic, ok? You're the only person who knows about me being able to read minds. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Whatever, just shut up and fight." Nick prompted. JT didn't need to be told twice. He spun to the side, batting away a thrust from Nick in the process, and dropped to the ground. He kicked out at Nick's ankles, but Nick jumped over the kick without breaking his rhythm, his weapon weaving, thrusting, slashing, always pushing JT back. The Al Bhed retreated, stumbling and rolling and weaving out of the way of attacks that whistled past so close that he felt the wind coming off of them.

'Where did _this _come from?' JT wondered as the two separated to regain their breath. 'I saw him fight that commander at Kilika, but the rest of the time he just used grenades.' He took a deep breath and the Wind Song whispered in the back of his mind, slowly building until it enveloped the entire Celsius.

"Lets go serious then." JT suggested before he started his attack. His feet and fists blurred as he pressed his attack, dozens of blows raining down at Nick at a dizzying amount of different speeds and angles.

And, in a dazzling display of defensive ability, not one touched him. Nick twisted and weaved, and ducked, and rolled out of the way, and seeming to fade out of existence a split second before JT's attacks would hit, astonishing the Al Bhed once again. "What's wrong, JT? I was expecting _more_." Nick commented lightheartedly.

"Jeez, like defense or something?" JT replied, his voice slow and tight with concentration. Nick's weapon wasn't just blocking now, it was striking back faster then anything even _Seph _had done. How in the name of Spira had Nick gotten so _good _all of a sudden?

"You try dealing with Ryan's Hiten Mitsurugi Style for two years. He didn't exactly hold back much." Nick said calmly. "In fact… I don't think he _ever _held back. I kind of just had to pick up my defense." He slammed the blade of his stick onto the ground and launched himself over JT's head, ending with the same blade pressing just hard enough against the Al Bhed's throat to draw a little blood. "However, Ryan's a hell of a lot harder to hit."

'Jeez… he Wind Song didn't do _anything_.' JT thought as Nick moved his blade away. 'It didn't even slow him down. Who… What _is _he?'

"You mean I missed it?" Seph asked as the elevator hissed open. "But I just heard the Wind Song…"

"Well, guess it didn't help that much." Nick commented absently as he brushed past the assassin and into the elevator. "Now if you'll excuse me I'd like to get to sleep. After all, sleep is good. Oh, and JT. Might want to try using more defense."

"Cocky little shit." JT muttered.

"Love you too, psycho-psychic!" Nick called out as the elevator closed. 'Well, that was fun.' Nick thought as he rolled up his sleeves and looked at the numerous bruises running up his arms. He smiled to himself. 'Maybe next time I'll be able to feel my arms afterwards. If he listens to my advice anyway.'

Nick rolled his sleeves back down as the elevator door hissed open. He wandered down the halls, but found the door to his room open slightly. 'Did someone say they'd be waiting for me…?' Nick wondered as he walked in cautiously.

"Onto the bed, bitch." Paine said as she closed the door behind him. Nick glanced at the clock. 2:30 am. Everyone else was sleeping. "You're mine for the rest of the night. Say anything about this to _anyone_," Paine said in a grave voice, "and I'll castrate you with a rusty spoon." The finality of Paine's voice caused his heart to skip a beat, and he had a despairing feeling that she'd actually do it.

But when Paine's black bathrobe dropped away all so did all his worries, which were quickly replaced by one thought: 'It's about damn time I got laid here.'

888

'What _was _that?' Lusniec wondered as he sunk into a chair on his own dimension. He looked around, barely recognizing his surroundings. The walls, the swords, the few chairs and the one table: none of it looked familiar to him.

'And why would Ryan have given me a chance to back out?' Lusniec wondered as well. 'He didn't hesitate to cut me in half two years ago… and I'd nearly killed him the previous time we fought. Why would he give me a chance to leave?'

"Wow… haven't seen you here for a _long_ time…" Dnortih commented as he stopped just outside of Lusniec's reach.

"Yeah… I can barely remember it…" Lusniec said quietly.

"Something wrong?" Dnortih questioned.

"Fuck off. I'm thinking about stuff, and I don't need you interrupting me." Lusniec said as threateningly as he could. A few seconds later Lusniec heard Dnortih laughing, and he really didn't care.

"Oh man. I'm sorry, you just sound so…" He snickered again before finishing with, "well, not menacing. It's fucking hilarious…" Dnortih started laughing again, but made sure he could keep an eye on Lusniec. When the angel didn't make any move to attack the Lightning God looked around to make sure that it wasn't an after image, and when he realized that it _wasn't _he stopped laughing.

"Heh… I never realized it before, but I've never laughed since I started working for Yevon. Well, 'cept when I was fighting." Lusniec said sadly. "Hell, I'm not even sure if I _can _laugh anymore."

"Are you… ok?" Dnortih asked slowly.

"No idea." Lusniec replied as he stood up and turned to face Dnortih. Without picking Demon Edge up, Dnortih noted instantly. "So, what do you need Dnortih? You never really did enjoy my company."

"I came to ask you why you threw in with Yevon." Dnortih said calmly. "Was it really 'cause you wanted to kill Ryan? I don't believe that for some reason. That's something you could've done anyway. I mean, its not like he _gave _you anything.

"I have no idea." Lusniec said with a shrug. "I have to admit, I thought it was for that too. Now I'm not even sure if I hate him for the same reason I think I hate him."

"What are you talking about?" Dnortih asked. "You mean you don't even know _why _you hate Ryan?" Lusniec shrugged and Dnortih shook his head. "You're as confusing as ever, you know that?"

"Did you expect anything else?" Lusniec asked jokingly.

"Was that… a _joke_? From _you_?" Dnortih asked in disbelief. "I've _never _heard you even come _close _to cracking a joke before…"

"Times change." Lusniec said casually before teleporting out of his dimensions, leaving a very confused Dnortih starting at Demon Edge, which was casually tossed onto the floor.

"What the hell happened to him?" Dnortih wondered aloud as he bent down and picked the sword up. "And who reforged this for him…?"

"I did." A voice hissed while a spear ran Dnortih through. "Now be a good god, and stay here for awhile, won't you? After all, it's not like getting run through is going to _kill _you or anything."

Dnortih looked down at the spearhead sticking out of his stomach numbly. 'What…?' He wondered, only vaguely aware of the spear being pulled out of him and then falling to the ground with darkness closing in around him.

"That's right. Nighty night you fashion challenged freak." The voice hissed before fading away, leaving Dnortih with only the growing pool of his own blood to keep him company.

888

Sakura looked over the side of the Celsius and felt the blood drain from her face. "Why are we _jumping _off the Celsius again?" She asked, grabbing Matt's arm to steady herself unconsciously.

"Because it'll be fun!" Rikku said happily. "Why, something wrong?"

"I don't like heights." Sakura said quietly, looking down once again. "I never have…"

"Then why'd you get onto the Celsius…?" Nick asked. "It doesn't exactly stay on the ground you know."

"It's one thing to know you're in the air but you're inside an airship, and another thing to be able to see the ground." Ryan said as he looked over the edge calmly.

"Shouldn't do that you know." Matt pointed out. "Someone might push you off."

"That'd be fun." Ryan remarked with a smile.

"Permission enough for me." Nick said with a smile as he kicked Ryan in the back just hard enough to cause him to topple forward and over the edge of the Celsius.

"Are you crazy!" Sakura demanded as she watched Ryan go tumbling over the edge.

"No." Nick replied calmly.

"Then why the hell would you kick Ryan-kun off the edge of the ship!" Sakura shouted.

"You'll understand. Just watch." Matt said calmly as he leaned over the edge and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Sakura whispered.

"Well… I'm not sure." Matt admitted slowly as he scanned the forest roof fifteen feet below the Celsius.

"If he's dead, so are you." Rikku said flatly as she scanned forest a little further down the Celsius's deck. A flutter of motion in-between her and Matt caught her eye and she moved over to get a better look.

And promptly jumped backwards when Ryan yelled, "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sho Sen!" and jumped out of the trees and onto the deck.

"Holy shit!" Nick shouted despite the fact that Ryan landed a good ten feet behind him. "What the hell _kept _you?"

"Sorry, I ran into some… problems." Ryan replied absently as he looked at his hands, which were cut up and raw.

"Why didn't you just fly back up?" Matt asked with a curious look in his eye.

"Funny thing about that. I tried and you know what? I discovered, somewhat sadly, that I couldn't anymore." Ryan said as he began to pull small pieces of bark out of his cuts. "So instead I had to try to catch a branch, which hurt like hell. Then I had to jump back up to the top of the tree… and then back onto the Celsius."

"You… _jumped _a full fifteen feet?" Sakura asked in shock.

"Is that how high it is?" Ryan asked. "Huh… didn't realize it was that much… but seriously, Sakura? After what you've seen here, does it surprise you?"

"Uh… guess not…" Sakura admitted with a shrug.

"Ok then. Now, while I was down there I saw an Al Bhed standing right about…" Ryan looked over the side and chuckled. "Well, frankly I can't tell from up here, so why don't we all get going, hmm?"

"Wait, if there's a person down there we might land on him!" Sakura protested.

"Well that'll suck for him, 'cause any of the girl's will beat the shit outta him, and the guys just won't care…" Nick pointed out before throwing his rope down into the forest. "See ya on the ground people!"

888

'Why'd I come here?' Lusniec wondered as he looked up at the door to the Den of Woe.

"_Come in_" an amused voice that sounded impossibly familiar said in the back of his mind.

"Who's there?" Lusniec demanded as he looked around slowly, a sword materializing in his hand.

"_Oh, forgotten me have you? Not really surprising after what you've been through._" The voice said, still sounding familiar. "_And put that sword away, you won't need it._"

"What do you want with me?" Lusniec asked helplessly as he let the sword disappear.

"_I want to talk to you." _The voice said simply.

"I'm not in the mood to talk." Lusniec replied.

"You _rarely are. Unless it's trash talk in a fight._" The voice pointed out. "_Besides, you'll want to hear what I have to say._"

"And why's that?" Lusniec questioned, his curiosity getting the better of his growing annoyance.

"_Because I can answer more then a few of you questions._" The voice replied with a gentle laugh. "_I can answer _why _you hate Ryan so much, and I can answer _why _you follow Yevon so blindly._"

"What?" Lusniec repeated numbly.

"_I didn't stutter, did I? I don't think I did… no, I'm fairly certain I didn't. But in case I _did _stutter, I'll say it again: I can answer why you hate Ryan so much, _and _why you follow Yevon so blindly."_ The voice said with clear amusement.

Lusniec bit his lip and considered the proposition. No doubt whoever it was would want something, but was he willing to pay the price for such knowledge? After a long while he asked, "How do I get in?"

888

"Well, I guess this is the 'entrance' Gippal's man told us about…" Seph noted as they came up on a cave. "So, question is, what's waiting for us on the other side?"

"Traps." Ryan suggested.

"Fiends." Nick added.

"A psychotic god who possessed another god and is probably waiting to kill us." Matt finished up cheerfully as he stepped into the cave.

And promptly feel another fifteen feet. "Hey Matt, you ok?" Ryan shouted into the hole, apparently not sure how deep it was.

"Fifteen feet! First step's a damn far fall." Matt warned as he stood up and dusted himself off. "And its dirt down here, not stone."

"Hey Matt!" Nick shouted from the top. "Catch!"

"Hey, put me down!" Sakura shouted just before Nick dropped off the edge. "Nick-kun, you're dead when you get down here!" Sakura screamed.

"Nick, you dumb ass!" Matt shouted as he positioned himself to catch Sakura. She landed in his arms and Matt's knees nearly gave out and slammed into the ground.

He took a deep breath and pushed the pain away when Sakura quietly said, "Matt-kun, you can put me down now." Matt blinked and realized he was still holding her.

"Oh, sorry. Kinda forgot about you there for a second." He admitted as he let Sakura down and stood up slowly.

"How do you forget about someone who's sitting in your arms…?" Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I think I hit a rock with my knee when I caught you." Matt confessed as he looked down at his knee. Sure enough it was bleeding.

"Well, thanks for catching me." Sakura said quietly. "But I think they want you to catch everyone."

"Well that sucks for them." Matt said with a chuckle.

"You're not catching anyone else?" Sakura asked.

"Well to be honest, I don't like to catch falling people. That's more along Ryan's area of expertise." He nodded to the top of the hill. "Watch."

"Ok…" Sakura said as she squinted into the darkness, not really able to make anything out. Suddenly Ryan appeared with Yuna in his arms, landed, set Yuna down and disappeared. "Oh, I see."

"Yep." Matt said as he pulled a small rock out of his knee. "Like I said, more along Ryan's line of expertise." Next came Paine who just glared at Ryan as he jumped back up. "Unfortunately he doesn't carry guys unless positively necessary so… Seph, JT, and Nick have to find their own way down."

"He doesn't seem to have any problem jumping so much…" Sakura pointed out.

"Well nobody ever said he was normal, now did we?" Matt replied with a grin as Nick, and Seph stepped into the hole and landed next to them casually, followed by JT who was carrying Melody, and Ryan who was carrying Rikku.

"I have the weirdest friends…" Sakura muttered as several shadows peeled off the wall behind the group. Sakura glanced at Matt who simply stepped to the side a little, grabbed her by the arm and started walking forward without a word. 'Guess he saw them too. Then again, he always picks the stuff out. In fact, come to think of it, everyone else does… except for Melody. And that's probably only because she's just their for healing…' a wave of uselessness washed over her.

That's when the shadows decided to come out of their shells. Within the span of two heart beats, dozens of people wearing cat ears and tails trapped them in a ring that was, as far as Sakura could tell, more then two dozen deep.

"Lydc..." Seph said with a sigh. "She just _had_ to be captured by Lydc."

"You must prove yourself worthy to proceed. Four of you must enter the Trial of Benix, while the others must wait for you to fail or succeed."

"And if the four fail?" Paine asked calmly.

"You will all be executed." The Lydc replied indifferently. "Choose now who will enter."

"Can we at least know what the hell the Trial of Benix is?" Ryan questioned slowly.

"It is a Trial. If you need to know what lies ahead of you, you need not enter at all." The Lydc replied in its same, level voice. "The trial is different for each person. Nobody can tell you what you will face."

"Oh, this is wonderful." Seph muttered under his breath. "We couldn't just walk in and ask for her back. We have to go through some kind of trial…"

"How bad could it be?" JT questioned with a shrug.

"I'm going." Nick said flatly, though he wasn't sure why he said it.

"That's not like you. Going into something you don't have any idea about." Matt clarified.

"Do _you _have any idea what this trial is?" Nick countered smugly.

"Not a one." Matt admitted with a grin.

"Exactly. And, while I'm amazingly better looking, and _much _more popular with the woman, I'm still, regrettably, more expendable then any of you people." Nick pointed out with sarcastic despair.

"You've got your own reasons, and for some reason I don't think they're quite so humble…" Matt commented off-handedly.

"Who, me?" Nick asked in shock. "Not humble? I have _no _idea what you're talking about. Regardless, I still want to go inside."

"Your choice." Matt said with a shrug. "But we probably shouldn't take _all_ our fighters into the trial."

"Why not?" Rikku asked curiously.

"Well need some if they decided to attack those waiting outside." Paine answered in the same way someone in a corny movie would've greeted an alien.

"Ooh, right." Rikku said, and Paine couldn't believe her friend was oblivious to the fact that she was being teased. "Well then, Paine, guess you can go in."

Paine scowled at Rikku as the Al Bhed slipped to Ryan's other side, effectively turning him into a human shield. Ryan just smiled and shook his head in amusement while watching Paine out of the corner of his eye as they walked along.

"So then, who exactly do we send in, and who exactly stays out?" JT questioned.

"Well, Nick's already said he was going in." Seph pointed out. "And I know I'm going in. So that leaves two spots open."

"I'll go." Paine volunteered to everyone's surprise. "I'm tired of not getting to fight anyway."

"So will I!" Sakura declared, barely cutting JT off.

"That makes five people… we only need four." Nick pointed out. "Well, it looks like the women of Spira shall rejoice, since I guess that means _I'm_ not going."

"Wonderful. Don't take _too _long now, you four." Ryan muttered. "I can't stand long waits. Make me think too much."

"Those who will enter the trials follow me, the rest wait here." The leader of the Lydc guards ordered as he turned down another hall, with Matt, Seph, Sakura, Paine, and half the guards following.

"So, what do you think they'll have to do?" Yuna asked as they were led into a surprisingly comfortable room and then left alone. "I hope it's nothing too dangerous."

"I wouldn't worry about the dangerous aspect." Nick commented as he sat down in an oversized recliner. "I mean, Sakura, Matt, and Seph are all gods, and Paine seems capable enough."

"That's true." Yuna admitted. "But I still can't help but worry."

"I'm going to have to agree with Yuna on this one." JT said slowly. "They're amazing fighters, no doubts there, but still. What if they aren't necessarily fighting?"

"Relax you two." Ryan said from the love seat he and Rikku were sharing. "They'll be fine. The thing _we _should be worrying about is--"

"The coming attack." JT finished. "I agree. Those guards didn't look too friendly."

"So what do we do to give ourselves an edge when they come, that's the real question." Ryan said as he looked around the room. Other then the couches and chairs all it had were two doors. "Nick, anything?"

"You know me." Nick replied with a grin. "Do you really have to ask? I mean, this _is _why you wanted me to be here, isn't it?"

Ryan rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Get to work then."

888

Lusniec walked into the giant, surprisingly well lit room slowly. Fifteen minutes ago he'd passed out, and when he'd woken up the door to the Den of Woe had been _gone_. When he walked through the hole, the door had reappeared, and trapped him inside. And for the past ten minutes he'd been walking in complete darkness.

The sudden light had nearly blinded him. "Where are you?" He shouted while squinting to try and see through the blinding light.

"I'm right in front of you." The same voice that he'd heard outside the Den of Woe said calmly.

"Well then turn off the light. I can't see." Lusniec stated. Immediately the lights dimmed to a bearable, if still bright, intensity. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The voice replied as Lusniec looked around the giant room with surprise.

It was almost completely bare. Other then a chair and an empty sword stand there was _nothing_. "You don't like to decorate." Lusniec pointed out to the person that he assumed was sitting in the chair, since there was no one else in the room.

"Well, when you're just a spirit you really don't _need _much, if you know what I mean." The voice said from behind the chair.

"You said you could answer why I hate Ryan, and why I've always been so loyal to Yevon." Lusniec reminded.

"Right to business I see." A familiar figure said as he stepped out from behind the chair. Lusniec stared in confusion and the figure smiled, "Yes, I figured you'd have that reaction."

"_Ryan_!" Lusniec gasped in disbelief.

"Ryan?" The figure looked around and then pointed to itself. "Who, me?"

"You're not Ryan?" Lusniec questioned and when the Ryan-look alike shook his head Lusniec looked closer. For ten minutes the Ryan-look alike waited patiently while Lusniec scrutinized every detail of him and came up with only _two_ barely noticeable differences in the bright light. The only differences were the fact that the kid had silver hair and eyes, just like Lusniec. "No, you're not Ryan."

"It took you _this _long to figure that out?" The kid said with a raised eyebrow. "Shesh, that's kind of sad."

"Why do I hate Ryan so much?" Lusniec asked without missing a beat.

"Right. Ryan." The kid sighed. "First, do you know who I am?"

"Someone who has answers, but isn't giving them to me." Lusniec said flatly. "Now hurry up and answer the question."

"My name… your name… they're the same." The kid said slowly. "My name is Lusniec. I'm you." Lusniec raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "The _real _you."

"Real me?" Lusniec questioned. "What do you mean by _real_?"

"When the Summoner known as Yevon became a god he was a good person, and to ensure that everything he did was fair, he elected five other, somewhat less powerful, gods." The teen said slowly. "Zedih, Dnortih, Usi, Vena, and Sin. Each one had completely mastery over their element. Each one was fair and just, if a little bias towards order or chaos."

"You're avoiding the question." Lusniec stated firmly.

"For you to understand you have to know this, so shut up, sit down, and listen." The spirit ordered sharply. "Now, as the years went on, Yevon's power slowly corrupted him. He began to believe the other gods were plotting to kill him, and steal his power. To prevent this he scoured the lands for a master warrior to become his bodyguard. A warrior whose skill was enough that was almost at the same level as the gods. Who he found was me."

"No, he found _me_." Lusniec corrected.

"Didn't I say that we were the same person? And I'm pretty sure I told you to shut up, sit down, and listen." Lusniec glared at the spirit but didn't say anything. "Thank you, and now, lets move along. As I was saying, he found _me_. He sent assassins after me, and powerful fiends, and everything short of a god that he could think of. Then he sent a god after me." The spirit shrugged. "It was the only one I couldn't _beat_. Although… I do think Dnortih's horrible fashion sense is a result of some brain damage I gave him… and probably why Ryan's such good friends with Matt, or at least part of the reason."

"_You _fought _Dnortih_ and _lived_?" Lusniec asked in disbelief.

"Well, yeah. And I didn't just _fight _Dnortih. I _tied _with Dnortih." The spirit said proudly. "As soon as Yevon heard he came to see what I could do himself. Came to find out why I _didn't _kill his assassins. When he found me, he attacked." The spirit sighed. "I didn't make it through that one. After that he took my soul and tore it to pieces, so to speak. He took everything I knew about fighting, removed everything else, and made you."

"What are you _talking _about?" Lusniec asked after a few seconds of silence. "Even _Yevon _can't do that."

The spirit looked at him, more then slightly amused. "You don't really believe that, do you?" He asked slowly. "Part of you wants to, _needs _to believe this, right?"

Lusniec bit his lip and considered what the spirit had just said. It didn't take him long to discover the truth. "Yeah." He admitted. "Part of me does want to believe what you just said. But the other part--"

"Wants to kill me for bad-mouthing Yevon, right?" The spirit finished up.

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Lusniec questioned slowly.

"Because when Yevon made _you _from _me_ he was a paranoid freak, remember?" Lusniec nodded slowly and the spirit continued, "Well, to make sure that he didn't have to worry about _you _betraying him he replaced all of my memories with fierce loyalty and hatred of any non-god. And he made sure that you would always side with him over anyone else. Not only that, he made sure that you were _expendable_."

"What?" Lusniec hissed. "_Expendable_?"

"Yeah, _expendable_ Lusniec. Yevon doesn't give two shits about you." The spirit shrugged. "You're the strongest swordsmen to ever live, the strongest non-god to ever live, and you've never even seen your true memories, or… reached your true strength." Lusniec's head shot up so quickly the spirit barely noted it.

"Ok, two things. How the _fuck _am I expendable, and what the _fuck _does 'you haven't even reached your true strength' mean?" Lusniec demanded.

"Well I would think the latter would be pretty self evident… you could be stronger then you are… as for being expendable, that's where Ryan factors into the equation." The spirit said slowly. "Yevon made sure that, should he ever begin to doubt you, he could replace you. By putting your symbol onto the back of one of your heirs, you would seal the person's power… as you slowly lost your own."

"As I lost my _own_?" Lusniec repeated in disbelief.

"Yeah. The seal doesn't actually seal the person's power for good. It just seals it so that their body can slowly get used to the power that _you're _loosing to them." Lusniec just blinked at the spirit. "Yeah, didn't expect you to take that part _too _well…"

"I'll never be able to beat him then…" Lusniec whispered in disbelief.

"Could you have beaten him anyway?" The spirit asked slowly. "I mean, isn't that part of the reason you hate him? Because even _with _all your power, he's _still _your equal?"

"Yeah… it is." Lusniec admitted. "But at the same time, I can't _not _respect him for that."

The spirit smiled and let out a relieved breath. "That's the best news I've heard since Yevon killed me!" He said happily.

"What are you _talking _about?" Lusniec questioned.

"Tell me, have you _ever _respected a non-god before Ryan?" The spirit questioned simply.

"Well… no…" Lusniec admitted slowly.

"That's because Yevon made sure you'd hate all non-gods. That way if the mortals ever found out about them and tried to overthrow them rather then worships them, you'd be on the side of the gods, and wouldn't have any regrets about killing them either." The spirit explained. "If you actually _respect _him, that means that Yevon's control over you is slipping for some reason."

"Well he is dead…" Lusniec pointed out.

"Well, either way, it's good for us." The spirit assured. "That'll make freeing you a _hell _of a lot easier."

"Freeing me?" Lusniec asked doubtfully.

"Did I stutter or are you getting hard of hearing in your old age?" The spirit asked, earning a scowl from the angel. "Yes, freeing you."

"You _honestly _think that you can break _Yevon's _control over me? That's assuming you're even telling the truth." Lusniec pointed out.

"You don't believe my story then?" The spirit asked quietly.

"Should I? I mean, it's not impossible for someone to watch my encounters with Ryan from a distance and figure that stuff out." Lusniec replied calmly.

"Then shall I _prove _to you that I'm the person the gods found so long ago?" The spirit asked calmly. "Let's see, you… can't even come _close _to beating one of the gods, correct?"

"Correct." Lusniec said slowly through his teeth.

A wooden sword as long as Demon Edge appeared in the spirit's hand, along with one at Lusniec's feet. "Well then, lets see just how rusty I've gotten."

Lusniec glanced from the spirit to the sword and back to the spirit. "Are you _stupid_?" He asked slowly.

"No, but you can't _begin _to imagine how important it is that you believe what I've told you. So if this is the only way, so be it." The spirit said somewhat sadly. "I never did like to fight, and I still don't. However… if you do fight me… I'm not going to hold _anything _back. That's why we're using _wooden _swords. Because you _have _to survive this."

"I'm already dead…" Lusniec said slowly.

"Come again." The spirit replied.

"I _said _I'm already dead." Lusniec shrugged. "Ryan cut me in half on Gagazet."

"Oh…" The kid said slowly. "Well… can't say I expected that one…"

"Neither did I." Lusniec admitted with a slight grin. "Of course, he had me thinking that I _knew _his final attack when I really didn't. And now I can use it too… so he's got no advantage."

"Well, lets see what you can do." The spirit said with a grim smile. Lusniec reached down and picked up the wooden sword at his feet. Without waiting to see if the spirit was ready he charged across the room.

And the spirit disappeared when Lusniec swung. "Well, you're certainly a quick one, aren't you?" the voice caused Lusniec to turn his head slowly and found the spirit _standing _on the tip of his sword. "And you've got good form, too. But you'll have to do better then that."

"Look, one lucky dodge doesn't mean anything." Lusniec shot back as he pulled his sword back and then shoved it back as the spirit dropped to the ground. The spirit simply moved its head to the side, ducked down, and then slipped to the opposite side of the sword, each move dodging what _would _have been a killing blow with a real sword.

"Is it my turn now?" The spirit asked politely.

"Fucker." Lusniec spat out as he brought his sword back to guard. 'He's a shit load faster then me. And he's still just toying with me.' Lusniec thought as the spirit _actually _started to inspect his nails. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sou Sen!" The spirit raised an eyebrow and, without taking his eyes off his nails, deflected each and every one of the strikes. Lusniec blinked in disbelief.

"I'll take your silence as a yes then." The spirit said as he brought his sword up into a stance that Lusniec had used so many times himself. "Wind Cutter!" Lusniec's eyes widened as the attack slammed into him, and then drove him _through _a nearby stalagmite. Lusniec felt the wind rush out of his lungs, his entire body felt like it had been cut up and put back together, and his breath was coming in short, painful gasps. "I guess that _might _have been a little too much. Didn't mean to cut you up so badly…"

"What?" Lusniec managed to ask before looking down at his body that looked like it had been torn to shreds. "How did you…" Lusniec question trailed off as he realized that someone who couldn't _possibly _know how to use the Wind Cutter had nearly _killed _him with one. "That's not… possible…"

"You're beginning to believe me then?" The spirit asked slowly. "Beginning to believe that I actually _am _you. After all, you said it yourself. _You're _the only person who could teach someone how to use that attack."

"Yeah…" Lusniec admitted as the realization began to filter into his mind. "So everything you said… its all true…" Lusniec whispered.

"Yeah. It's all true." The spirit said as the wooden swords, along with Lusniec's wounds, disappeared. "And there's more, I'm afraid…"

"More?" Lusniec asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Since _Yevon _created you, _Yevon _can kill you without… well… trying, really. He could think about it and you'd just… die. And its not like you'd go to the Farplane, either. You'd completely cease to exist."

"Wonderful. This day keeps getting better." Lusniec said as he sat up slowly. "So, I'm going to assume that since you know everything else you know how to stop this, too?"

The spirit smiled, "Now what made you think that?" He asked sarcastically as he helped Lusniec up as best he could. "Now, before you go, there's something I've got to tell you."

"Oh boy." Lusniec muttered.

"It's not that bad." The spirit replied with a shrug. "Just that, after this, you won't have any hatred towards anyone. You'll remember _everything _that Yevon took away from you."

"That's not so bad." Lusniec admitted.

"Now for the bad news." The spirit said with a chuckle.

"I hate you." Lusniec said over the spirit's chuckling. "You know that?"

"Yeah, but you _should _be kissing my ass." The spirit replied. "After all, I'm about to save your life."

"Ok, then what's the bad news damn it?" Lusniec demanded.

"The bad news is that, no matter _what _you think of Yevon after this, and now matter _how _much you hate him, you have to make him think that you're still working under him, got it?"

"What? Why?" Lusniec demanded.

"When the gods face him again, they'll _all _be there. This is our _last chance _to take him out, and the gods _will _need your help." The spirit said gravely. "I'm not sure how, I'm not sure when it'll be, but they _will_ need your help. Understand?"

"So why do I have to make Yevon think I'm still working for him, exactly?" Lusniec questioned.

"Well… if you don't… he's just going to blow you into oblivion and you… won't be doing the gods much good there, now will you?" The spirit asked cheerfully.

"Heh, I guess not." Lusniec admitted.

"Well then, so long as we're clear on that…" the spirit took a deep breath and for the first time since Lusniec had seen him, looked truly sad. "Then its time I finally got to sleep."

"What're you talking about?" Lusniec asked, his stomach suddenly tightening into a knot. "What're you going to do?"

"Lusniec, the only way to keep you from dying, and save Ryan from having to live the way you did, is for you to be able to choose for yourself. For that… I have to die…"

"What are you talking about! Why do you '_have' _to die?" Lusniec demanded as the spirit started to glow.

"Because _you _have to be complete. For that to happen, we have to be _one_." The spirit said before he disappeared in a flash of light. Jets of white-hot pain shot through Lusniec's body and he crumpled to the ground and screamed in pain. Seconds blurred into minutes that in turn blurred into hours, which in turn into days in Lusniec's mind over the next twenty seconds. And then it was simply gone, replaced by a warmth Lusniec had never felt before.

* * *

ok people, now that i've given you this, i've got good news and bad news. good news- if you like halo and starwars i'm starting a cross over fic, but it only takes a back seat to this one. i only write it when i have writers block for this one... and now the bad news for you all. i'm not going to be updating for a while... i'm going on vacation and have no access to a lap top computer unless someone wants to mail me one for some reason... not that i'd complain... so yeah. sorry people. oh, and GO READ WHAT THE BY AURON"S FAN! it's good flame her and die, by the way... 


	9. The Trials of Benix

I'M BACK! ok, i know, it's been _way _too long. i missed you all! this chapter just didn't seem to end, and i gotta warn you, it's _long_. 40 pages to be exact. anyway, it's fanslike you people that make it worthwriting. i love reading all your reviews! maybe it'sjust me XD. anyway,i'll try to update faster next chapter, but school's started so i can't make any promises. now, without furtherdealy, to the_REVIEWS_! flies away like super man

Mtbanger- welcome to my story! i'm glad you liked 2 Fallen Gods, but i hope you'll like this one better. more plottwists in my opinion... anyway, dunno if you're reading this yet, but welcome!

Da KeR MySteRrr- good morning! yeah, your last review was rather detailed. but i don't really care. just makes it more fun to read and reply. lol, i think being intolerant of tardiness and impatient are almost the same thing, but that's got nothing to do with me. stupendous... spectacular... awe inspiring? yeah, i think you're right, those'll do. yes, i thought the humming thing would be enjoyed, given that it's so different from everything else in just about every other story i've ever heard of. and who could Sin's heir be indeed? you'll just have to wait and find out. and yeah, gippal's jaw is broken, but it gets fixed this chapter! like i said before i got to your _original _reply, i didn't think that nick was getting the respect he deserved.i mean, he trained with Matt, Ryan, and Auron for _two years! _i don't care who you are, you're _bound _to have moves after that. yeah, the whole thing with nick and paine was shocking. that's what i was going for. yes, lusniec has a sense of humor! OMG, the world's coming to and end! and who could sneak up on and impale a god! and no, i'm not bashing my head against the computer desk. i enjoy this part of the chapter! anyway, until next time, toodles!

CeE CrOw- you don't need an excuse! i'm an understanding person, i know that sometimes youjust can't review, or forget, or something else that i can't think of right now. but yes, that _is _a good reason. and i hope youre DSL is fixed by now. as for letting Kerri sleep? sounds like a good idea --. and yes, all fans, GO READ _WHAT THE_! NOW! well, AFTER YOU REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!

labrat-seph- no, i'll never get the name "Hiko Sejiro". i don't really like that name to be honest, tho the people who know about it in the story might call me that from time to time when i _do _master Hiten Mitsurugi Style. so no, i haven't mastered it fully. as to what happened to Lusniec's 'bf', well you'll just have to wait and find out. you know i can't just _kill someone off_, it's just not... well, me!

lightningwizard- buwahahahahahah! yes, the fight between Nick and JT was awesome. i was hoping everyone would think JT was going to win since he beat Seph, 'cause frankly, i doubted that people respected Nick as much as they should've... -- as for the two lusniecs... that was just fun to write. and now here's what you've been waiting for! the rest of the trials!

SLy -yeah! i got to update again! and an aussie nickel! i think it's called a nickel, anyway. is it called a nickle over there? huh, anyway, i'll take that -takes the ten dollars and puts it in a locked box with the rest of the money- so we've got one for tidus and one for nick. and What The is the one with the Messiah. ALL OF YOU SHOULD READ IT! and you admit to being addicted to my fight scenes? i figured as much. but i guess the plot's good too. lots of twists. oh, and who said that the shaving cream prank was done? its not like Sakura got rid of it or anything... and i don't have a laptop, but i want one! or a computer in my room, for that matter!

Shadowkiller27- weeeeeeeeeeeeell, i guess flaming_Wakka_is ok. so long as you don't flamethe story in general like aformer reviewer of mine -hack--cough--Relic-cough--hack- does. anyway, my vacation _was _great, and i hope this was enough timefor you to update yourstory! i certainly gave youenough time, lol. anyway, Lusniec's not exactly 'good' yet, but he'sdefinetly better then he was. you'll just have to wait and see hwere i take _that _twist -cackles evilly-

Shadow Beast1- i'll take that as well -takes the money and puts it in the jar with SLy's money- there's the vote for tidus! any other takers on Sin's heir?

Bstgoalie31- damn this is the _second _time i'm replying to this message. i'm sorry to whoever i lost because of this. i lost three replies to this... i think. other then this one, i didn't have any of the other e-mails. i'm sorry. anyway, no, i can't say ow. it's too hard. i can type it tho! but you're right, it _did _set the mood. and it seemed like something paines would say, too. -laughs- you can't _ban _cliffhangers. they're what make my story so much _fun!_ besides, you have no direct control over that. and i sleep by laying down in a dark room and thinking about what i want to do in the next chapter. who's _Yevon's _heir? wow, i wondered when this would come up. heh, gotta keep some secrets, sorry. as for the Nick/JT match, Nick is way above par since he trained with Auron for two years, which JT didn't know and then there was the fact that JT just beat _Seph_, who _is_a god where Nick isn't, so he was a little overconfident. and am i messing with your head? yes. that's what makes me a good author. i get in your head and get you addicted!

Auron's Fan- if you thought that the _last _chapter was good, wait till you see _this _one. wait... you're my beta... you've seen most of it! grr... anyway, no, the lusniec we all loved to hate wasn't the real lusniec. yes, the spirit dude is gone. sorry. no, lusniec's never going to go straight. sorry. yes, gippal still has a broken jaw. no, ryan can't fly. what about matt and sakura? and yeah, nick and paine was surprisingly effective at shocking people -evil grin- why am i always on a 6 am? 'cause i'm a morning person, 'cause it's the only time i really get any privacy. techincally i usually get on at around... 5:20 ish... and i think it's safe to say _everyone _hates yevon. as for who sin's heir is, you'll have to read to find out. yeah, jt can read minds. good luck trying to make sense of mine lol, can i get any crazier, nee-chan?

Anasazi Darkmoon - no, lusniec won't be pure evil anymore. nick's better then most people and jt was overconfident.nick and paine? not sure, think i may have need sleep more then i wanted to admit. and yes, that line about the rusty spoon was great.

and now onto the chapter!

* * *

The Trials of Benix

"The trial of Benix?" Rae asked slowly when Kitty came back from her meeting with the elders. "What's that?"

"Benix was a legend among our people. He single handedly _saved _the Lydc from extinction more then once. He _was_ the Lydc embodiment of the Lords!" Kitty said excitedly. "And he also didn't trust humans… so before he died he called upon the powers of the Lords to create four trials."

"Ok, but what _are _the trials?" Rae pressed urgently.

"Nobody really knows. They're different for each person." Kitty said quietly. "And nobody's _ever _passed before. Not even our _best _warriors."

"How do you know that?" Rae asked. "I mean, did they come out all torn up and stuff? It could've been some kinda powerful fiend."

"No, it wasn't a fiend." Kitty said slowly.

"Well how do you _know_ that?" Rae demanded.

"Because nobody's ever _come _out." Kitty said quietly. "Everyone who's ever gone into the trials has disappeared."

"What?" Rae asked numbly.

"Rae, I'm sorry. There's no other way for them to get to our city, and nobody has _ever _finished." Kitty said quietly.

"Rae…" Gippal, who had finally been squeezed into the healer's schedule long enough to have his jaw healed, said as comfortingly as he could.

"Seph'll be… fine. Right, Gippal? I mean, you guys fought a lot back when the Crimson Squad was still together, right? He won't die 'cause of some stupid trial, right?" Rae asked almost pleadingly.

"Believe me; if there's one thing Seph's good at, it's his _damnable _ability to turn a fight around blindingly quick." Gippal said with a chuckle. "I mean, I didn't loose my eye to a _fiend _after all."

"But you lost it for a fiend Summoner…" Rae said quietly.

"Yeah… who then left Home and went to find out about the very same guy no less. And is now dating him." Gippal sighed. "Man, what my folks would say if they were still around. Hell, what _your _folks would say if they were still around."

"Yeah. They always did say we were like siblings…" Rae agreed with a slight smile.

888

'Well this is a lame trial…' Seph decided as he walked down the dark, worn hallway that he'd been led to. 'Come on, at least give me _something _to look at. Dark walls are starting to get a little old.'

As he walked he vaguely became aware of the sounds of muffled voices and struggling. 'Well at least it's not dark walls.' He thought as he jogged along through the shadows until he was standing in front of a door. He put his ear to it and the muffled voices greeted his ears. 'Guess they're on the other side.' He thought as a pendulum dropped into each hand. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

The blindingly bright light blinded him for several seconds as it washed over him. Old pains flared up, and Seph's scars from the past reopened. Blood coursed out of his body and the pain of dozens of wounds raced through him like he was the course for the Chocobo Grand Prix, forcing him to his knees. His body jerked and twisted against his will as the voices of his victims screamed inside his head. He tried to push it away but the more he tried the louder the screams got. He barely felt the tears of pain rolling down his face.

And then the pain was gone, and the screaming was dieing away. Seph forced his eyes open and found the light dieing away as well. His body was covered in a cold sweat, and ached from fatigue and exhaustion. He wondered where he was, and how long he'd been there.

He couldn't remember. The exhaustion that was setting in kept his mind foggy and muddled. He followed every thought that drifted through his head as long as he could, but they all slipped away after a few minutes. He sat there, dazed and helpless, exhausted and bewildered, wondering what was going on.

_"Seph, get up." _Zedih's voice whispered harshly. The sound of the water god's voice cleared enough of the fog in his head for him to understand _who _was talking to him, but not enough to remember anything else. _"Pitiful. A little pain and you're useless."_

"Watch it." Seph warned in an almost sleepy voice. "What do you want?"

_"For you to get up, for one thing."_ Zedih pointed out crossly. _"Or does Rae's life mean so little to you?"_

Seph's eyes widened and the memory of what he had come to do came flooding back to him. His fatigue and confusion disappeared and he hurried to his feet. "She's still alive then?"

_"You said it yourself, she's just _insurance_." _Zedih said simply, his voice going backed to his bored whisper. _"What reason would anyone have to kill her?"_

"It's Yevon." Seph pointed out as he examined the room he was in. Its ceiling disappeared into the shadows, while the rest of the room was lit by torches, leaving Seph wondering what had created the bright light. "Who knows what he'd do?"

_"Yevon may be insane, but he's no _fool_, Seph." _Zedih stated. _"He won't do anything that could jeopardize his plan."_

"So fighting me and Matt at the same time wasn't a threat to his plan?" Seph asked in disbelief. "Man, Yevon's got a hell of an ego."

_"He does." _Zedih agreed. _"But, as much as I hate to admit it, he's got the power to back it up"_

"Yeah, I know." Seph admitted sadly. "Now what am I supposed to do for this trial?"

_"Can't say that even _I _know that one." _Zedih said with a sigh. _"The Trial of Benix is a trial that's said to be impossible, by _any _standards."_

"Bet a god's never taken it before." Seph muttered grimly. "Although I do with that I could get on with it. I need to get going."

_"You shouldn't want to face something so dangerous, Seph. The Trials aren't called impossible for no reason. Even a _god _will have trouble with them." _

"Zedih, you _worry _too much. When have I ever found a challenge I couldn't kill?" Seph asked confidently.

_"Seph, what makes you think you'll have to fight?" _Zedih asked calmly.

"What do you mean?" Seph questioned, still looking around.

_"I mean, how do you know you have to _kill _something?" _Zedih repeated. _"I mean, if you don't have to _kill _something, you're not exactly going to have much experience."_

"Well then," Seph said with a sigh. "I guess we'd better hope I have to kill something."

888

Paine looked around and felt her blood chill. She'd been in places like this before, dark, damp, and lightless.

She'd hoped to never come to a place like this again. She could hear her heart beat quickening as she walked through the tunnel, and she knew it wasn't adrenaline that was making it beat faster.

For the first time in years, Paine was scared.

_What's wrong little girl?_ A voice asked inside her head.

"Who's there?" Paine shouted into the darkness, barely realizing that her sword was in her hand. She could've _sworn _she knew that voice. But who was it?

_Big, bad Paine._ The voice taunted.

"Show yourself!" Paine ordered, barely able to keep the panic that was rising in her chest out of her voice.

_Oh, you don't remember me? I'm hurt, Dr. P, I really am._ The voice stated sarcastically.

'Calm down, Paine. It's just someone trying to get you angry so you'll mess up.' Paine told herself, slowing down her breathing that had become rapid without her realizing it.

_You think I'm just someone trying to get you angry?_ The voice taunted. _Oh no, Dr. P, I'm going to do much more then that. You see, I know everything about you. All your secrets, all your hopes, all your dreams. How you feel about people, why you don't share your past._

'It's just a test. Nothing to get worked up about. Just find the hidden person and it'll stop.' Paine told herself.

_You don't really believe that, do you? I mean, do you _really _think that I'll just go away? _The voice questioned. _Paine, you're smarter then that. You know I'm not going to just 'go away'. Besides that, there _isn't _a hidden person. Just you._

"And you." Paine countered, still looking around for a hidden person, or a speaker, anything that could answer why voice was there.

_Ahhh, yes. You always _were _good at fooling yourself into believing the untrue. Like the fact that you _belonged _with Gippal, Nooj, and Baralai in the Crimson Squad for example, when you knew that you _didn't

"Shut up!" Paine ordered. "I don't care what you say, I _earned _the right to be with them."

_You killed your opponent while he slept. You're no better then _Seph _was while he was an assassin._ The voice corrected.

"I'm better then him!" Paine yelled. "I always was!"

_Then why did you have to kill him while he slept, hmmm? _The voice questioned knowingly. _Paine, I know everything about you. Even now, you fight to become stronger, because even now, all these years later, you _still _doubt you'd be able to beat him. _Paine's sword dropped to the ground and she covered her ears.

"You're wrong! I earned my place there, I didn't cheat!" She shouted loudly.

888

"Well, Sakura, what're they gonna throw at you?" Sakura whispered as she walked through what looked like a park back in Japan. 'And why are they going to do it in a park?'

"Sakura-chan?" The voice came from behind the ice goddess so gently that Sakura missed it until it repeated her name.

"Usi-chan?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Hey, Sakura-chan." Usi said with a somewhat sad smile. "How're you holding up in Spira?"

Sakura shrugged. "I guess I'm doing ok…" she said with a sigh.

"You guess?" Usi asked with a raised eyebrow. "What'd you mean by 'I guess'?"

Sakura sighed and sat down on the ground. "I just feel… useless. I mean, _everyone _else is good at this, killing fiends, saving the world. I'm not."

Usi giggled as she sat down next Sakura. "Sakura-chan, what do you mean you're not good at this? You beat _Lusniec_! Other then Ryan and Yevon, nobody has _ever _done that before. _No one_." Sakura shrugged the statement off. "Sakura-chan, that's not just something _anyone _could do. _Matt-kun_ would probably have more of a problem doing that then you did!"

"I doubt it." Sakura said dryly. "I've sparred with Matt-kun. He beat me easily."

"Only because you underestimated him." Usi insisted. "If you had known he was that strong, would you have blocked that attack, or dodge it?"

"I would've dodged, but that's not the point." Sakura replied. "The _point _is that I just don't belong here."

"What makes you say that, Sakura-chan?" Usi asked quietly.

"You said it yourself!" Sakura shouted. "You only chose me 'cause I reminded you of yourself! Not for any _real _reason!"

"Maybe I didn't, but can you think of anyone else that would have wanted to go?" Sakura stood up and started walking away. "Or someone else that would've even given Ryan and Matt's story a second thought?"

Sakura sighed and stopped. "No, I can't." She admitted. "But I'm only here because you couldn't find anyone else for the job!"

"You're right. I couldn't." Usi admitted gently. "But it's not 'cause I couldn't find someone _better _for the job. I couldn't find anyone else, because I don't think anyone else that showed any potential could've _done _the job."

"You said it was because I reminded you of yourself!" Sakura accused.

"You did." Usi said calmly. "You were strong, open minded, loyal, willing to help people you didn't know."

"Help them?" Sakura asked with a sarcastic laugh. "I've helped them _once_, Usi-chan. Once! The rest of the time I've just slowed them down!"

"So you want to go home?" Usi asked quietly.

"What did you just say?" Sakura demanded. "I can go home?"

"All you have to do is keep following the path." Usi said quietly. "However, Sakura-chan, if you leave, you'll forget _everything _about Spira, me, the other gods, your own powers, even Ryan-kun, Nick-kun, and Matt-kun."

"What? Why?" Sakura demanded.

"Because people on earth _cannot _know about Spira unless they have the powers of the gods." Usi stated. "But if you go back to earth because you don't want to be in Spira, then you'll forget everything by the second day there. You will even forget about your own powers. And… your friends in Spira won't remember you either."

"That's not fair…" Sakura whispered. "Matt-kun, Ryan-kun, Nick-kun, JT-kun, Seph-kun, Yuna-chan, Rikku-chan, Melody-chan… even Paine-chan! They're all my friends! How can you just make them forget about me!"

"How can you turn your back on them, and damn an entire world because you're afraid that you're not good enough? You a damn goddess, Sakura! How the hell can you think you aren't good enough! You could probably kick the crap out of just about _anyone _in Spira without a weapon!" Usi shouted so loudly Sakura tripped and fell as she scrambled backwards to get away from the suddenly volatile god that was marching towards her.

"Because I'm just a girl! I can't handle that kind of responsibility!" Sakura countered.

"And Ryan-kun, Matt-kun, and Andy-san could two years ago?" Usi shouted. "Ryan nearly died fourteen times alone, died twice, and left the person he loved with all his heart for _two years_ to come and find you!" Usi shouted as she picked Sakura up and pinned her against a tree. "Matt had to take him to the hospital more then _two dozen _times because they _had _to come here and find you. They left their _homes_, their best _friends_, their _lives_ to come and find _you_! _Yevon_ possessed Andy-san because he went back to earth to find _you_! People were killed by fiends, because they had to come back and find _you_!"

"And it was all for nothing, apparently!" Sakura shot back. "Usi-chan, you and I _both_ know that I'm only holding them back, they have to _worry _about me in fights. If I wasn't here, Spira might be _safe _again!"

"Without you Spira will _never _be safe!" Usi shouted. "Without you there's _no way _to stop Yevon, no way to save Spira, and no way to save Andy-san!" Usi glared at Sakura, waiting for her to say something, but Sakura just averted her eyes. Usi fought back the annoyance and anger she was feeling with several deep breaths. "Sakura-chan, you've got _one day_ to figure all this out." She said in a level tone as she let Sakura down from the tree. "Go back to earth for one day. If you want to stay there, then you'll forget everything like I said. If not, then you can come back here. There'll be a portal in this park that will close this time tomorrow."

"And you're really just going to let me go?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"I can't keep you here against your will, Sakura-chan." Usi said simply. "It looks like you weren't so much like me after all. Sorry I dragged you into this, Sakura-chan."

888

The first thing Lusniec realized when he woke up was that the ground under him was cold and damp. He sat up slowly and dully realized his muscles were cramped. As he stretched them out memories drifted into his mind, events, people, wars, and emotions he'd never known. He shook his head a focused on what he had to do.

'I have to help the gods. That's what I told… myself, I guess it was, that's what I'll do.' He sighed and sat up, wondering how he'd do that.

_Close your eyes._ A woman whispered playfully in the back of his mind. _I can show you anything you want to know._

"The Spirit of the Wind." Lusniec whispered softly.

_You finally remember me._ The spirit replied excitedly. _Oh, this _is _a good day! My creature finally remembers me! No more days spent hanging around people who can't hear me!_ Lusniec coughed and the spirit giggled. _Sorry. Now, what is it that you want to see?_

"What I'm supposed to see." Lusniec said quietly.

_As you wish._ The world around Lusniec warped even as the spirit said it, but quickly went back to normal. _Odd._

"What's wrong?" Lusniec asked softly.

_Apparently whatever you're _supposed _to see, is beyond even _my _ability to see. That means that--_

"You can't show me. Right." Lusniec said with an unconcerned sigh. "Well then, what _was _I supposed to see?"

_Sorry, but I don't know. All I know is that she isn't in Spira anymore._ The spirit replied sadly. _I wish I could be more of a help. I didn't want to fail you so quickly._

"Ah, don't worry about it." Lusniec said absently. "But you said it was a she, right?"

_I think so. It's just kind of a hunch I had._ The spirit admitted. Lusniec remembered how accurate her hunches were, and was pretty sure that she was right.

"A girl… So it's gotta be Rae or Sakura." He summarized.

_Why's that?_

Lusniec smiled slightly. "Well, Sakura's the heir to the powers of the goddess of Ice, meaning she's a threat to Yevon. He'll get rid of her the first chance he gets. She's the weakest of all the gods."

_And the other? Rae, I think you said…_

"She, is Yevon's 'insurance' as he put it. He's using her to make sure that Seph stays away. Not an ill-thought out plan since Seph's not only the God of Water, but the number one Assassin in Spira." Lusniec said quietly. "But the question is _which one _is the one I'm supposed to see."

_Well I should be able to see at least _one _of them._ The spirit pointed out.

"That's true. Ok, show me Sakura." Lusniec ordered. The world around him whirled through the entire light spectrum in a few seconds and then went back to normal. "Well, I guess that solves _that _question."

_Don't forget, Yevon could be blocking them both. Should Ishow you the other one as well?_

"Good point. Do it." The world swirled again, more slowly this time. The color faded away and he found himself standing in front of a translucent Rae, who was sitting with her head buried in Gippal's shoulder. He wasn't sure because the Wind Spirit couldn't let him hear what was happening, but it seemed like Rae was crying. He felt a tear run down his cheek and it shocked him so much that he lost the connection.

_What's wrong?_ The wind spirit asked.

Lusniec shook his head and wiped the tear away. "Nothing. Just not used to feel sadness for myself, nonetheless someone else."

_Are you going to be ok?_

"I'll be fine. Right now I've got a Goddess to visit." Lusniec stated as a small glowing ball appeared in front of him. "I'd forgotten that it took longer without my power…"

_Would you prefer it if _I _sent you there?_

"You can do that?" Lusniec asked without trying to hide his surprise.

_You think you're the _only one _to get stronger over the past several thousand years? Please._ Lusniec grinned and nodded. _All right then, hold onto your dress Samurai-Man, this could be a rough ride!_

'Oh boy.' Lusniec thought as the wind picked up and he disappeared.

888

Usi blinked as Lusniec stepped, quite literally, out of the air in front of her and dropped to one knee. "What the _fuck _do you want?"

"A pleasure to see you too, Usi." The icy tone Lusniec had grown so accustomed to over the years seemed odd and alien to him.

"I'm so sure. Now answer my question. What. Do. You. Want?" Usi demanded.

Lusniec sighed and stood up. "Well, you're in a bad mood today."

"Lusniec…" Usi said warningly through a clenched jaw.

"Very well, I'll come straight to the point." Lusniec said smugly. "Where's Sakura?"

"Why do you care?"

"I have my reasons." Lusniec replied simply. "And no, you cannot ask."

"Are you on orders from that shit head, Yevon?" Usi questioned.

"No, this is something I personally am curious about." Lusniec shrugged and sat down on a nearby block of ice. "You see, I have a friend who can… _see _anyone in the world. And she couldn't see Sakura."

"Then maybe your friend should get her eyes checked." Usi countered.

"You're rather sour about this subject. You know, you really should keep yourself under control." Lusniec pointed out smugly. "You see, now I _know _something's wrong. You know how? Well, I'll tell you."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Usi questioned.

"Immensely." Lusniec admitted. "Now, the way I can tell something's wrong is because you're mood keeps getting worse and worse whenever I mention Sakura."

"Ok, fine, so what?" Usi demanded.

"Where is she, Usi?" Lusniec asked again.

"Why do you care?" Usi demanded once again, avoiding his question.

Lusniec took a deep breath, more to stall for time then anything else. This was something he hadn't expected. "I want a rematch. Now."

"And you think I'd give her away for that… _why_?" Usi questioned.

"Why not? It's clear you're angry at her. Besides, she's bested me once already." Lusniec pointed out.

"True…" Usi said slowly, a slight smile of superiority creeping onto her face. "But it doesn't matter. Even if it told you, you wouldn't be able to get your rematch."

"Why's that?" Lusniec demanded as he fought to keep calm.

"She's left Spira." Usi said sadly. "She's on earth."

"You sent her back to _earth_!" Lusniec asked in disbelief. 'That would explain why she couldn't be seen…'

"Yes, I sent her back to earth. And if she isn't back by the end of _one day_," Usi said grimly, "she'll forget everything and one related to Spira, loose all her powers as my heir, and be banished from Spira forever."

Lusniec blinked. He could barely believe what he was hearing. He wanted to shout out "Are you fucking insane! What about Yevon? Now he can't be stopped!" but that would've only made the situation worse and he knew it.

"I see. Sorry to hear that." He said instead as he disappeared into thin air.

888

Sakura blinked in disbelief when Usi vanished into thin air. 'I'm back.' She thought numbly. "I'm back! Oh my god, I'm back!" She turned around and soaked in the view of the park and the people walking around in normal clothes. The sound of a parade drifted along through the wind gently and she wondered whether it was a parade of some kind. Maybe it was one for school? She didn't care.

"You ok?" Someone asked her.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Sakura replied. "Umm… actually, could you tell me where the high school is?"

The guy raised an eyebrow but pointed behind her. "Straight that way. Why?"

"Nothing. Thank you!" Sakura shouted before running off in the direction the man had pointed.

A shadow smiled slightly before slipping from tree to tree along the lane. He couldn't believe that he'd found her so easily. Yevon had said that this job was going to be difficult.

The whirl of a red jacket caught his eye, and he suddenly understood _why _Yevon had said that. He chuckled softly. "Sir Auron." He muttered with amusement. This _was _going to be difficult. But the fact that the ancient guardian was here, on earth, and not in the Farplane held importance that the shadow couldn't begin to understand. So instead he watched the guardian follow Sakura with his usual calm face.

This, the shadow was going to enjoy.

888

Auron scowled as he watched Sakura. What was she doing here? Had they _really _killed Yevon already? 'No.' He told himself sternly. 'Even here, I'd have noticed such an event. Something else must have happened.'

The hairs on the back of Auron's neck stood up and he glanced around. Someone, or something was following him. And he was following Sakura, probably doing exactly what the stalker wanted him to do. He sighed and sat down on a bench, watching Sakura as best he could without moving. He waited for fifteen minutes before he got up and walked away.

He just hoped that whatever had been watching him hadn't been after Sakura. If it was, he had a feeling Yevon had already won.

888

"Wow, I've been away for a long time." Sakura said light heartedly as she strolled through the zoo. She took her time, enjoying the fact that she _wasn't _about to get jumped by any fiends or assassins for the first time in a long while. She had been wondering for nearly two hours before a shout froze her blood.

"Some kid fell in the Snow Leopard cage!" someone shouted. Sakura found herself leading a wave of people over to the Snow Leopard cage where a woman was crying and shouting incoherently, and guards were restraining a man Sakura assumed was the father.

"He'll be killed! He's only three!" The father shouted as he struggled to jump over the railing after his son.

"If you go in there you'll be killed too!" one of the guards shouted.

"Then shoot the fucking thing! I don't care if it _is _an endangered species!" The father shouted before pulling free of one guard and managing to get onto the railing before being pulled down.

By now the crowd had pushed Sakura up to the edge of the railing and she watched as the leopard, knowing that the kill was an easy one, took its time as it strolled over to the child who was crying about a scrap on his knee. A dozen feet away from the kid the leopard stopped and looked directly at Sakura with the curious eyes. But then the curiosity turned to hunger and it began its march towards the kid once more. Sakura's heart leapt into her throat and, before anyone could do anything or Sakura thought about it, she found herself vaulting off the railing towards the leopard. She landed behind the leopard, which instantly whirled around to see what had suddenly invaded its territory, and Sakura rolled past it and came up in a ready position in between the suddenly quite child and the leopard.

"Well, that was fun." She commented dryly in the silence that had followed her stunt. She stepped back slowly and picked the child, risked a glance up at the stunned people, and then turned her attention back to the leopard. 'This is going to be hard.'

888

"What is she doing?" Usi wondered as she watched Sakura jump off the railing and into the leopard's pit. "Maybe she wants to die? Nah, not her. She just got home."

_Perhaps she wants to protect the child._ Lusniec's wind spirit offered. Usi's eyes instantly scanned the room to try and find the source, drawing a laugh from the spirit that further irritated the already irritable goddess. _You wont' find me that way. I'm the spirit of the wind. I'm everywhere at once. _

"I don't care if you're Yevon himself, get the hell out of my domain." Usi ordered slowly.

_I think I'll stay, actually._ The spirit said challengingly. Usi rolled her eyes and went back to the piece of ice she'd been using to scry on Sakura. _For someone who sent Sakura back regardless of how Sakura felt, you sure do care about her._

"She exactly like I was. Stronger then she realizes, caring, but scared. Being in Spira was terrifying for her, and she was dealing with that terror all the time. She'd never be able to survive like that." Usi said quietly.

_That's very true. So you sent her back, not just because you were angry with her, but because you knew that if she didn't do this of her own free will, knowing what it could mean, she'd die anyway?_ The spirit summoned up.

"Yeah." Usi said after several minutes of silence.

888

Sakura tried to blink the sweat and blood out of her eyes as she jumped over the leopard for what must've been the twelfth time in under a minute. She landed, jumped forward, rolled, came back up facing the leopard, and then twisted to the side to keep the leopard's claws from cutting the baby's face open.

Waves of fire shot through her back as the leopard's attack connected, tearing more jagged lines across her back. She stumbled forward in a vain attempt to get enough distance between her and the leopard for her vision to clear. Her leg flared up as the leopard raked it a second time, and Sakura barely had enough time to turn to her side and avoid crushing the kid when she fell. She heard the heavy door that let the feeders into the exhibit open and sighed with relief as she passed out.

888

Matt stopped and brought Lightning Edge up into a ready position when the wall of energy randomly appeared in front of him. When it didn't do anything he inched closer.

And then it showed a bunch of people on earth. At least, Matt assumed they were on earth, since they definitely didn't dress like the people of Spira. As he watched a shadowy figure, dressed in clothes that seemed too heavy compared to everyone else's, reached forward and pushed a little kid.

The window zoomed out and Matt watched in horror as the kid fell into the pen of a snow leopard. People started shouting and then Sakura was jumping over the railing and into the pen as well.

She landed, rolled passed the shocked leopard, and placed herself in-between it and the kid. When she got back up she picked the kid up, which apparently upset the leopard. He watched as Sakura spun, flipped, rolled, jumped, and used every other conceivable method of movement to keep away from the enraged leopard, all the while slowly being torn to pieces by its claws. He watched with disbelief as she fell to the ground and didn't move. The leopard glared down at its new meal with glee, and Matt nearly collapsed himself.

And then the door that the feeders use to get into the pen fell over. Auron walked out and glared at the leopard, which wasted no time in attacking. Matt had never been so relieved to see the one-eyed slave driver.

888

Auron took one look back at the confused, astounded, and slightly scared guards who'd been too panicked to open the door, which Auron had simply kicked open. "Stay." He ordered as he shrugged his cloak off of his right shoulder and drew the kendo stick he'd been using earlier. The two guards nodded quickly and Auron stepped towards the startled leopard. The leopard looked at Sakura and the baby, then at Auron, and then back to Sakura and the baby.

Then it decided that it didn't like this new intruder. The leopard charged across the twenty feet between them in under a second and leapt at Auron. The ancient guardian leaned down and to the right and the leopard passed over his shoulder, landed, and then spun back around to find Auron's kendo stick consuming its vision. It jumped back to dodge, then leaped forward.

Auron rolled to the side and slammed down on the leopard's back as it passed. He heard it cry out in pain but his spin and return to guard hid exactly how badly he'd hurt it for a few seconds.

When he saw it leaped at him again he had a general idea of how badly it was hurt. Sighing, Auron stepped into the attack, barely passing between the two outstretched arms. With all the considerable strength he could muster he slammed his kendo stick down into what he presumed was the leopard's collarbone. The results were immediate.

The leopard's face contorted in pain as the force of Auron's swing snapped the kendo stick and slammed the leopard into the ground hard enough to break several ribs. Several people came running in and shot the leopard with darts a few seconds later, and then turned their attention to Sakura. 'Typical. Get here when the work's done' Auron thought as he watched them work in silence. When they started complaining about not having anything to stop the blood he took his coat off and handed it to them. They raised an eyebrow but didn't ask any questions.

888

"What… happened?" Sakura asked slowly when she woke up in a hospital bed.

"Sakura!" a familiar voice cried so loudly that it gave Sakura a headache. "What were you _thinking_? Your first day back and you try to fight a _Leopard_?"

"Nice to see you too, mom." Sakura muttered as she massaged her temples. "What happened to the kid?"

"He's fine, other then a few scrapes." Another voice said, one that she didn't recognize instantly.

"_Auron-sama_?" Sakura asked as she sat up. When she met his eye her heart skipped a beat. His gaze said it all. He wanted to know why she was back. "Nice to see you, too." She added politely.

"Ah, so my favorite student returns." A friendly voice said as the door opened. "Well Sakura, you may have trained with other people for the past few weeks, but you haven't forgotten _me_, have you?"

"Sensei?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Oh my god! Why are you here?"

"Relax, relax." The man with the top-knot said with a laugh. "I don't have any classes today, and you're on every news channel in the country." He glanced outside to where there were several reporters being forced out of the hallway. "You're going to have some interviews to do when you get out of here." He turned to Auron and smiled. "And you as well, my friend. Tell me, what happened to _not _drawing attention to your skills?"

"Are you complaining, Bon?" Auron asked with a smirk.

"No, just wondering." Bon admitted with a shrug. "It seems that _I'm _the one with a legendary sparring partner now."

"Ok, ok, all non-family out!" An old doctor shouted as he walked into the room. "I have work to do, now shoo!"

888

'This is going to prove more difficult then I suspected.' The shadowy figure thought as he sat against a tree and went over what he'd seen at the zoo. 'Auron is defiantly protecting her if he'd risk revealing how talented he _truly _is in public. That doesn't bode well for my mission.'

"Well if it isn't you." Lusniec muttered as he stepped out of thin air in front of the figure. "I figured you'd show up sooner or later. I just _hoped _you wouldn't."

The shadow scowled at Lusniec, which caused him to laugh. "What do you want?"

"What are you doing here?" Lusniec asked when he'd finished. "I mean, you're one of Yevon's lap dogs. Why would you be on earth?"

"What business of it is yours?" The shadow questioned. "I'm under orders from Yevon himself."

"So?" Lusniec questioned. "What're your orders, exactly?"

"I'm here to remove Usi's heir forever." The shadow replied.

"Really?" Lusniec asked calmly.

"Yes, now leave me be or face the wrath of Yevon." The shadow hissed. Lusniec sighed and shook his head. "What?"

"You're a fool, you know that?" Lusniec asked before a short sword slid through the shadow's stomach, pinning him to the tree.

"How _dare _you?" The shadow demanded as it struggled to get free.

"I _dare _because I'm still the protector of the gods, and Sakura _will _be the new goddess of ice." Lusniec declared firmly. "Oh, and by the way, that's a binding sword. You won't be able to escape that tree for three days."

"Damn you!" The shadow shouted as Lusniec walked away. "I'll kill you."

"If I ever got so bad with a sword that _you _could kill me, I'd rather be dead anyway." Lusniec replied cheerfully before he stopped and looked himself over. "Wait a second. When did I get pants?" He shrugged, not use to having something on over his kimono before deciding earth was just a strange world.

888

"Auron, I do have a question for you." Bon said when the two were back at his house drinking tea. "Why would you risk your life to save someone you don't really know?"

"I'm an honorable man." Auron replied.

"Yes, you are, I admit to that." Bon said with a slight grin. "But that's not the whole truth. What was your _real_ reason for saving her?"

Auron sighed. "She's a goddess."

Bon chuckled. "Yeah, sure. Seriously Auron, why did you save her?"

"Because she's the heir to the goddess of ice." Auron stated firmly.

"What are you talking about?" Bon questioned after a little bit of silence.

"Earth is not the only world in existence." Auron said simply. "There is also a world called Spira. I'm from Spira, it's where Sakura's been these past few weeks."

"Right…" Bon said slowly. "That's an interesting concept."

"It's no 'concept', Bon." Auron said. "It's completely true. And in Spira we have multiple gods. Yevon, Vena, Usi, Zedih, Dnortih, Usi, and Sin. Sin was killed and sent to the afterlife, and Vena, Usi, Zedih, and Dnortih are already dead, just waiting to be sent to the afterlife. Yevon, too, is dead, but only Sin could send him to the afterlife."

"Right. And, judging from your tone, Yevon's not exactly a good god?" Bon questioned.

"No. He's a psychopath that's trying to destroy Spira. Two years ago Ryan, Matt, there friend Andy, myself and our friends stopped him. However it's impossible to kill him unless all of the heir's are present."

"And Sakura wasn't there." Bon finished up. "But even if she's there now, what good will it do you to kill Yevon? If only Sin could send him to the afterlife, and Sin is dead and in the afterlife, then it's utterly useless."

"Because two years ago we brought an unprecedented era of peace to Spira by getting rid of Sin." Auron said. "And now Yevon threatens that peace, and is trying to destroy all life on Spira. We _have _to stop him."

"I see." Bon said quietly. "So in other words, the fate of your world rests entirely on Sakura being in Spira. And she's here, on earth."

"Exactly." Auron agreed grimly.

888

Paine felt herself trembling as she walked through the corpse-strewn dungeon. Bodies of possible Crimson Squad members were everywhere, torn to shreds, missing limbs, brains and guts lying dozens of feet away from the body in some case. It took all her will power to keep from throwing up.

_You see what your _friends _did?_ The voice that had been her only companion since she'd started the trial questioned. _This is how they became the Crimson Squad. They _killed _everyone else. Just like you._

"I did kill to get my position." Paine agreed sadly.

_What right do you have to call yourself a friend of Lady Yuna?_ The voice demanded.

"Every right! Yuna's my friend!" Paine said forcefully.

_No she's not. She's using you becaue you're a _decent _fighter. Once you're no longer useful she'll turn on you. Just like the people who held the Crimson Squad try-outs did!_

"No she won't…" Paine said without much conviction. "She's not that kind of person."

_What reason does she have to trust you? She has to have figured it out by now. You're a _killer_ Paine. That's _all _you'll ever be good at!_

Paine shook her head in despair. The voice was right. Yuna wasn't stupid. She probably _had _figured out that Paine was hiding something shameful.

"_You're problem, Dr. P, is that you don't trust people._" Gippal's voice said gently.

"_For once I agree with Gippal. We're a team. You have to learn to trust your teammates._" Nooj's voice agreed.

"_Your friends will always be there for you._" Barallai's voice added. Paine looked around and found herself alone.

'How could anyone know that anyway?' She wondered. 'We were alone. We checked.'

"_See, Dr. P? You're too suspicious? You need to learn to relax! We'll always be here for you._" Gippal added reassuringly.

'That's right. We were always there for each other.' Paine thought as the memories of her time with the Crimson Squad slowly filtered back into her brain.

_No you weren't. If you were always there for each other why do Nooj and Baralai run opposing factions? Why doesn't Gippal intervene and try to get them to work together? Why didn't any of them ask _you _to help them?_ The voice asked venomously.

"Because I said that I couldn't. I had to go and find something!" Paine shouted. The horrible images around her started to fade away slowly.

_You're lying to yourself, Paine! You're a killer and nothing more! If you and your friends were always going to be there for each other why didn't you help when Seph attacked the group?_

"Because I would've just slowed them down!" Paine shouted, and the images faded a little more. "If I had tried to help all four of us would've died. I _trusted _them, trusted that they wouldn't get killed! And they didn't!"

The images began to fade away more quickly now. Paine heard the voice mumbling something but it was garbled and she didn't understand it. She closed her eyes and remembered all the times she'd trusted the Gippal, Nooj, and Baralai and the voice grew fainter and fainter.

"_Hey Dr. P. How're you doing?_" Paine opened her eyes and found herself staring at Gippal's idiotic grin.

"_We knew you'd figure it out if we gave you a little help._" Baralai said as he _appeared_ next to Gippal.

"_Even these idiots could figure that out._" Nooj added when he appered.

"Are you all really here?" Paine asked.

"_No._" Nooj said simply.

"_We're just illusions._" Baralai explained.

"_Created by the Trial of Benix._" Gippal finished.

"Even so… thank you." Paine said quietly.

"_Am I hearing things?_" Gippal asked in shock.

"_Wow, Paine. I never thought I'd live to hear you say that._" Baralai said with a chuckle.

"_I once again find myself agreeing with the idiots…_" Nooj added with a slight grin.

"Can it. Illusions or not, I'll kick your ass." Paine threatened.

"_Ahhh, _there's _the Dr. P we all know and love._" Gippal said with a laugh as the three disappeared, leaving nothing but a door in a solid wall of stone.

888

Sakura sighed as she walked out of the hospital. "Who lets someone go the same day they get attacked by a snow leopard? Shesh, the hospitals have really slipped around here." She looked up and felt a pang of regret. "It's already dark out."

"So?" Auron asked as he stepped out of the shadows.

"If I'm not back in Spira by the time I got here tomorrow…" Sakura trailed off. _Could _Usi back up her threats?

"You'll be banished here, to this world, forever." Auron stated.

"Yeah…" Sakura said with a sigh. "But… I don't belong there, Auron-sama. I belong here, on earth."

"Are you so sure?" Auron asked quietly.

"What'd you mean?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you not enjoy Spira?" Auron clarified. "Do you not feel out of place here? Don't you wonder _why _you recovered so quickly?"

"Yeah, I admit I enjoyed Spira. I made a few friends, but that's life. You've gotta leave people behind sometimes." Sakura protested. "As for feeling out of place? I just got out of a world where I could be jumped by fiends or some insane god's assassins at any second. Of course I feel out of place, I don't have to worry as much. As for _why _did I recover so quickly? I'm Usi's heir, right? Reason enough right there, Auron-sama."

"Then you'd damn an entire planet because you don't _feel_ like being there." Auron asked as much as stated.

"Usi'll find another heir." Sakura replied confidently.

"One that could last five minutes against a snow leopard _without _any powers or weapons?" Auron replied casually.

"Maybe, maybe not. She might find someone better. It's just as likely as finding someone worse."

Auron sighed. "You're a self pitying fool."

"And you're a one-eyed jerk who's prying into my life and screwing it all up!" Sakura shouted back. "You four came to _me_. _Not _the other way around!"

"We came to you because you were chosen. It was the destiny of your family to produce Usi's heir, we just didn't know it."

"My family's _destiny_?" Sakura repeated with a laugh. "Auron, my family is a bunch of nobodies. We're just everyday people!"

"Are you?" Auron asked calmly. "Have you ever noticed that _nobody _in your family ever seems to have a problem with the cold weather? Or that you prefer the cold weather, and you use air conditioning in the spring?"

"How did you know that?" Sakura asked as she took a few steps away from Auron.

"Because I know the gods. I know how they think, how they act, what they do." Auron stared into her eyes before adding, "I know that some of Usi's power runs in the blood of _everyone _in your family. If you won't help, one of them will have to take your place."

"Go to hell." Sakura spat. "My family doesn't owe you, or Usi, or anyone else _anything_."

"Then you've damned not only Spira, but Earth as well." Auron said before walking off into the night.

"Yeah, right." Sakura muttered as she turned and walked the other way, until she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. 'Great.' She thought as she scanned the woods around her. 'Now what?'

"Well if it isn't the leopard tamer." A man said as he led a group of people out of the shadows.

"What do you want, an autograph?" Sakura asked with a sigh.

"Ohhh, you're a _cocky_ one." The leader said with a grin. "Why don't you quite being so _high-and-mighty _and come hang out with us for awhile?"

"Why would I do that?" Sakura asked while feigning interest. The gang leader raised an eyebrow and walked a stepped in until their noses were nearly touching.

"We could show you a good time." The leader said with a lustful grin.

"Sorry. I don't think so." Sakura replied pleasantly. The leader raised a confused eyebrow, and then rose six inches off the ground when Sakura need him in the groin. "And if I _ever _hear about you guys pulling anything like this-" she blinked when something akin to the feeling of getting a shot spread through her leg, and let the suffering thug drop to the ground and looked down.

"You… stupid… _whore_!" The guy whose balls Sakura had just crushed groaned. Sakura shook her head at the numbness spreading through her leg and picked the guy up.

"What. Did. You. Do. To. Me?" She demanded.

"Fuck you!" The man shouted as the rest of the men charged her. She rolled her eyes and tossed the moaning leader into them, tripping most of them before two more needles bit into her. She twisted around and a fourth dart flew into her stomach. She blinked as her vision began to get foggy and her eyelids got heavier. "Ha ha ha… what now bitch? Do you like the tranquilizers?"

Two of the guys grabbed her arms and jerked them behind her back painfully, and then Sakura felt another tying her hands together. "Heh, now you're gonna get it, leopard tamer." One of them jeered gleefully as their boss regained his dignity and started walking towards.

"I'm going to _love _this." He said when the guys gagged her, threw her on her back, and then bound her feet. "Oh yeah. I'm going to _love _this."

888

'Bastards!' Matt thought as he watched the gang tie Sakura up. He started pacing back and forth quickly, constantly turning to check on the situation. When the leader pulled out a knife and started cutting her shirt open his heart skipped a beat and he looked away. He didn't want to see his friend get raped.

And so he missed the man walked into the middle of it.

888

Lusniec took one look at what was happening and shook his head in disgust. "You guys are all _pigs_." He said sadly.

"Who the _fuck_ are you?" a guy brandishing a pistol demanded.

Lusniec sighed and shook his head again. "There's really no point in educating someone who's not going to be awake long enough to hear the whole things, so…" Lusniec disappeared, "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!"

"What the hell?" the guy demanded just before Lusniec's sword slammed into his face.

"Next?" Lusniec asked calmly before moving his head just enough to avoid a dart. "Well, it would appear that we have a volunteer! Please, _do _step forward. I'd hate to keep your friends waiting."

"Fuck you pal!" a guy yelled as he pulled out a hunting knife. "I'll skin you alive! Come on!"

Lusniec smiled innocently. "Really? Skin me alive?" He asked jokingly. "Well do show me then. I'm just _dying _to see it."

"Fu--" the man was cut off when the hilt of Lusniec's sword slammed into his stomach, knocking him back a dozen feet and driving the air from his lungs. The rest of the gang charged him and he rolled his eyes.

'Who charges a guy with a sword when you don't have any weapons?' he wondered as bodies started to fly around him. He smiled to himself when less and less people started to charge him. The bodies were beginning to pile up and they knew that they couldn't win. He had to admire that, even as he weaved in and out of kicks, punches, knife thrusts, and the occasional flying dart. When they finally gathered enough sense to retreat he didn't really care. Instead he looked over at Sakura and sighed. 'She's going to need a new shirt.'

888

Matt's pacing was interrupted by a blindingly bright flash of silver light originating from the screen that he'd been avoiding. As he tried to blink the spots away he glanced over and felt himself slipping deeper into despair. He couldn't think of anything worse to add to Sakura's predicament now.

Lusniec. Matt felt himself trembling in helpless rage before he realized that Lusniec wasn't hurting her. In fact, even as he flew through the air it looked like she was fine, if a bit drowsy. 'That's odd. What's _he _up to?'

888

Seph blinked when Zedih created a wall of water in front of him. "_You need to see this. This is your trial._"

"What're you talking about?" Seph questioned as the water stopped swirling.

"_This is your trial. I'm sorry, but you have to choose between damning a friend and saving Rae, or saving your friend and possibly not being strong enough to save Rae._" Zedih said sadly. "_I wish I had a say in this Seph, I really do. If it were up to me I wouldn't make you choose like this. But it's not up to me._" Seph glared at the god and looked into the mirror. A hectic town raced through its day, then it centered on a girl with bright blue hair.

"Sakura?" Seph asked with surprise. "Where is she?"

"_On earth. The planet that she was born on._" Zedih said slowly.

"Why's she there?" Seph questioned.

"_That is her trial. If she does not return my midday this day, then she will forget everything about Spira, be stripped of her powers, and be bound to earth forever._" Zedih said sadly.

"What? Why?" Seph demanded. "It's just a _trial_! The penalty shouldn't be that harsh!"

"_I told you Seph, I have no power over this._" Zedih said with another heavy sigh. Seph turned away and watched as Sakura fought the leopard, then watched as Auron saved her. He watched with growing anger and frustration as Sakura endured her encounter with the gang, and then found himself blinking in confusion when Lusniec saved her and flew off to some house. He handed Sakura to some guy and then flew off.

"What did you mean by choosing between damning Sakura and saving Rae, or saving Sakura and possibly not being able to save Rae?" Seph asked.

Zedih was already gone.

888

Sakura woke up to the sound of multiple people running around outside her room, along with the occasional grunt, though why people were grunting she wasn't sure. She opened squeezed her eyes shut tighter and tried to pull her blanket up over her, but the sounds grew more and more distinct. Finally she gave up on the thought of going to bed and sat up, instantly realizing she was in a kimono and not the outfit she'd had on the night before.

And when she thought about it, for some reason, she couldn't remember what she'd had on the night before. Or what had happened after she'd kneed that sleazy gang leader, either. She sighed, stood up, and combed her hair, listening to the sounds that she could label now. Sparring practice. She was at Sensei's dojo. It wasn't the first time she'd woken up there, although she had to admit it was the first time she didn't remember _how _she'd gotten there.

When she was done she looked around, put on the pleated skirt that was folded nearby, and walked out into the dojo. Immediately she found herself being stared at by everyone in the class. She didn't have to look around to know that the boys were happy she was back, but the girls were glaring at her like she'd just stolen their boyfriends from them. 'And as far as I know,' Sakura thought with slightly more pleasure then she wanted to admit, 'maybe I did.'

"Sakura, good morning." Bon said as the two girls who'd been sparing went back to their ready positions.

"Good morning, Sensei." Sakura said with a bow.

"So, how went the mountain training?" Bon asked with a wink. Sakura smiled.

"It went well." She said with a slight grin.

"Perhaps you'd like to show us what you learned then?" Bon asked. 'And show _me _exactly how dangerous Spira was.'

"Of course, Sensei." Sakura replied calmly as the kid next to her handed her his Tonfas. She gave them an experimental twirl and then walked into the center of the room, waiting for Bon to announce who she'd be sparring with. When Bon produced his own Tonfas Sakura felt her heart skip a beat.

"Ready?" Bon asked with an amused look.

"_You_, Sensei?" Sakura blurted out.

"Yes, Sakura. I've heard from a rather reliable source that you've improved a great deal over these past few weeks. You were already the best student here when you left. It wouldn't be fair to have you spar against another student until we know exactly how good you've become." Bon replied with a smile.

Sakura chuckled nervously as she bowed and then dropped into her ready stance. Bon stepped forwards slowly until they were just out of striking distance, and Sakura found herself wondering whether or not he was nervous.

But when Bon stepped in and unleashed a dizzyingly fast series of punches and kicks Sakura flipped, twisted, ducked, rolled, and blocked everyone without thinking about it. Then, when Bon was forced to break off for a second to catch his breath, Sakura pressed her own attack. In the midst of her barrage of feet and fists, Bon managed to grab hold of one of her legs. Before he could spin her, however, Sakura jumped up and kicked out at his face with the other leg, landed on one hand and spun around, knocking Bon's legs out from under him.

'This is a surprise.' Bon thought as he rolled to the right to avoid a drop kick aimed at his chest. When he stood up Sakura was already coming at him again in her slow, seemingly unstoppable forward march that was backing Bon into a corner. As he batted her attacks aside he wondered how she could keep up such a fast-paced assault so long. 'What _happened _to you in Spira?'

His thoughts were interrupted when Sakura's kick clipped his nose. The surprise caused him to pull back a little farther reflexively, and he found himself backed into a corner. Sakura punched out at his face and Bon ducked under it and slammed into her with his shoulder, knocking her to the ground and emptying her lungs of air.

That had been the plan, anyway. A second after Sakura hit the ground she was on her feet and shaking her hand. Bon blinked in surprise. She'd gotten a defense up after all. He sighed as Sakura dropped into her fighting stance and then said, "I think we've got an idea of how good you've gotten, Sakura. There's no need for us to continue." Sakura smiled slightly and bowed as a CD player started to play gently. "Well everyone, it seems that we're done for today. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Sakura watched as all the students filed out of the dojo, speaking amongst themselves about various things, and when they'd all left she turned to face Bon again. "So, Sensei… exactly how long have I been asleep? I mean, your lessons don't start until three in the afternoon, right?"

"As always." Bon admitted. "But you didn't just sleep most of the day."

"What's that mean?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You remember the gang, right?" Sakura nodded and Bon sighed. "Well, they shot you with a powerful tranquilizer… repeatedly. You've been out of it for two days."

"_Two _days?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "Oh man. Talk about sleeping in…"

"Indeed." Bon said sadly. "So tell me, Sakura. What do you remember about the training you got in the mountains?"

"Well I…" She raised an eyebrow before slowly admitting, "I don't remember…"

"I see." Bon said. "Don't worry about it."

888

The shadow watched as the students filtered out of the building that Lusniec had taken Sakura to. 'Lusniec thought that such a simple weapon would hold me for _three _days?' it thought in disgust. 'I suppose, however, that worked in my favor. Now I won't have to deal with him.' A few minutes after the last student stepped out of the building the shadow prepared to move in, but a feeling deep inside of it made it stop and look around. What it saw was a man in sunglasses with a red coat. 'This, however," the shadow thought irritably, 'could be a bigger one.'

888

"Oh, Auron-san! How nice of you to come and visit me!" Bon said cheerfully when Auron stepped through the door. Sakura, who'd just put away all practice equipment, walked in and stared at him. "Sakura, do you remember Auron-san?"

"He's the one who saved me from the leopard, right?" Sakura asked.

"That's right. He's also a master swordsman." Bon boasted. "It would seem that your old instructor is the only one to give him a run for his money in the past few weeks. His students went training in the mountains, just like you."

"Really? Wow… maybe I saw them up there then. I'm not sure." Sakura said without taking her eyes off of Auron. 'Why does he look so familiar?'

Auron sighed at Sakura's puzzled stare. 'So she really did loose her memory. This is bad.' He thought grudgingly.

"Auron-san, what were your students names again?" Bon asked quietly.

"Nick, Matt, and Ryan." Auron stated firmly.

"Didn't they go to the high school around here?" Bon asked, and Auron nodded. "They're the ones that beat the whole kendo team, right?" Auron nodded again.

"Wow, that's impressive." Sakura admitted with a shrug as the door slid open. Auron's eyes iced over when he saw the man that as walking in.

888

The shadow grinned widely as Auron's glare. 'This alone is worth all this work.' It thought as it strode in calmly. "Well, it's been awhile."

"What are you doing here?" Auron demanded, his jacket already sliding off his right shoulder.

"I'm here on orders from Lord Yevon." The shadow replied with a false politeness.

"Indeed you are." Lusniec agreed as he walked into the dojo. "Hey, Auron. What's with the wooden sword?"

"What's with dead people coming back?" Auron countered. "I suppose that I'll just have to kill you again."

"Hey, you don't even know why I'm here yet!" Lusniec shouted in annoyance.

"You're Yevon's assassin. I need to know little else." Auron said flatly.

"Well guess what, Auron. You're _wrong _for once. Didn't think you could be wrong, did you?" Lusniec asked with a smirk. "I'm not here for Yevon. I'm here for my _own _reasons. If it wasn't, _he_," Lusniec jerked his head towards the shadow, "would've killed Sakura already. The only reason it took him so long to get here is because _I _slowed _him_ down."

"It's true." The shadow admitted grudgingly. "Although not as long as you expected."

"Please, I knew you'd be out today. Those things _never _work the entire time they're supposed to." Lusniec said with a laugh. "Besides, if I _really _wanted to stop you, you wouldn't have just been bound for two days, you've have been bound _forever_."

"I doubt that." The shadow replied calmly.

"Well, I _suppose_ you might have escaped, but it's not that likely…" Lusniec said with a grin. "Anyway, you need to _die_. Well… die again. What'll this make… five times?"

"Well I've always been a loyal follower of Yevon." The shadow replied calmly. "It only makes sense that I'd be brought back over the _common rabble_, like the Summoners."

Masamune appeared in Auron's hand and he charged the shadow. "Seymour, die!"

Seymour shook his head out of amusement as Masamune passed through him harmlessly. "Sir Auron, I would have thought you'd have recognized by now that _you _cannot hurt me. Nor can Lusniec."

"I ran you through with a binding sword…" Lusniec pointed out.

"Yes, but now I'm fully protected by lord Yevon's will!" Seymour said calmly.

"Like we care." Lusniec countered as he drew his sword, drawing a confused look from both the Spirians. "What?"

"Reverse blade?" Auron asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just full of surprises these days." Lusniec said easily as he swung at Seymour only to have the blade pass through the dead Maester without any resistance. "Apparently, though, not enough…" Seymour rolled his eyes and walked _through_ the two swordsmen and towards a terrified Sakura. "Hey, fag, stay the hell away from her!"

Seymour ignored him and continued towards Sakura who was stumbling back towards the room she'd been in earlier. When she reached the wall she grinned, pulled it open and rolled inside. When she came back out she was spinning her Tonfas. "Well, ready to get your ass handed to you, Seymour-chan?"

"Chan?" Seymour asked with a raised eyebrow. "Ah, pointless to ask the soon to be deceased." Seymour decided as a bladed staff appeared in his hand. "Now, _be gone_!"

Sakura jumped up and over the thrust, slamming down on the pole as hard as she could and burying it into the ground. In the second it took Seymour to pull it out she'd slid off and kicked him in the stomach, the force of which, when coupled with his own staff suddenly coming free, sent him flying back nearly a dozen feet.

"Why aren't you helping her?" Auron asked Bon as the two watched Sakura bob and weave in-between Seymour's clumsy and ill-placed attacks.

"Two reasons. First, does it look like she needs any help?" Bon asked as Sakura elbowed Seymour in the back of the head while spinning out of the way of a punch. "And second… I'd just get in her way."

"What do you mean?" Lusniec asked. "I've seen you fight with Auron over the past two days. You're _amazing_."

Bon sighed. "I'm also old. I don't have the stamina for drawn out fights anymore. Sakura's my student, but earlier today, if we had kept sparring… I know, without a shadow of a doubt, she'd have won."

"How do you figure?" Lusniec questioned.

"First off, she's faster and more agile then I ever was. It's one of the most important aspects of using Tonfas since it's a modern day self-defense style and we don't walk around in armor." Bon looked at Auron and Lusniec squarely and said, "Secondly, I was having trouble catching my breath. She wasn't even close to being winded."

"Wow…" Lusniec said with surprise as he turned back to the fight. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, she did hold her own against me long enough for the loss of blood to force me to retreat."

"You're slipping, Lusniec." Auron commented.

"At least I had a place to slip from." Lusniec replied with a slight grin. "Either way, she's better then she knows, that's for sure. She just has to put her mind to it."

"And ignore everything else." Bon added.

888

Seymour found himself spitting out another broken tooth and struggling to catch his breath. 'Who _is _she? She was _not _this good against the leopard.' He thought grimly. 'Hand to hand isn't going to work.'

Sakura raised an eyebrow as a gentle white light surrounded Seymour and gasped when his busted lip and nose were fixed. 'This is bad, whatever it is.' She decided.

"Now that I'm ready to _kill _you, it'll be fast, I promise!" Seymour shouted as dozens of needles of ice shot out of his hand. Sakura twisted, turned, and rolled to avoid the razor sharp icicles. She cried out in pain and collapsed as one slashed through her calf. Bon jumped forward, Tonfas in hand, but Lusniec and Auron held him back as a dull gray flame engulfed Seymour's hand. "Now, you little _ice wench_, die!" He shouted as flames shout out of his hand barely five feet away from Sakura.

Bon spun around, slammed an elbow into each of the men holding him back, but by the time he'd turned around to face Seymour again the spot where Sakura had been was engulfed a wave of gray flames. "Sakura!" He shouted over the roar of fire and snapping wood.

888

Matt felt his heart turn to ash as he watched Seymour's icicle caused her to collapse. When gray flames engulfed his hand and then burst forward, like a burning hand spell from dungeons and dragons, and engulfed Sakura he nearly collapsed in disbelief.

'Seymour. That smug, arrogant, death-obsessed bastard!' Matt thought as he watched the maniacal ex-Maester torch one of his best friends to cinders. As he glared and began to plan his revenge a flash of white in the midst of the gray flames caught his eye, and a roar threatened to deafen him. "What the hell is _that_?"

888

"She's fine." Lusniec stated calmly as he rubbed his jaw. "Which is a _lot _more then I can say for my jaw, by the way."

"What do you mean she's fine?" Auron demanded without taking his gaze off of the raging fire that didn't move far enough to touch any of the buildings.

"You didn't see it?" Lusniec asked in surprise. "Heh, guess having one eye really has its disadvantages."

"What did you see damn it?" Bon demanded. Lusniec opened his mouth but all anyone heard was a nearly deafening roar. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

"That wasn't me…" Lusniec stated slowly with an amused look in his eye. "It was her." Bon and Auron followed his finger to a Snow Leopard that was not only holding back the flames but crushing Seymour's hand in her mouth. "By the way, Auron, _that _is what I saw."

"This doesn't make any sense." Auron stated quietly. "Sakura's no longer Usi's heir, she stayed on earth over the time limit. Why would Usi's guardian still be protecting her?"

"She earned her respect when she protected the kid from her." Lusniec guessed. "Think about it. To the leopard, it must have seemed like Sakura was protecting her cub."

"Makes sense." Bon agreed.

888

Usi watched in astonishment as Snow ignored what she'd not only been told, but _ordered_ to do. 'As if loosing my heir wasn't bad enough.' Usi thought sadly. 'Now my guardian's gone! What's this world coming to?'

_She's honoring the risk Sakura took_. The wind spirit suggested. _Sakura risked her life to save a 'cub' and Snow understands that. So, even though she's sure to die, she's going to protect Sakura._

"Shut up." Usi snapped so harshly that the spirit's presence disappeared entirely for a second.

_You know I'm right. You know Snow's right. _You _were wrong._

"I know that!" Usi shouted. "Damn it all, I know I shouldn't have wiped her mind. I shouldn't have sent her back in the first place!"

_I was just talking about taking her powers away…_

"Damn you! Why the hell are you still in my dimension?" Usi demanded.

_Because I regenerate power more slowly here, so I don't have enough power to teleport myself out yet. And normal portals don't work for spirits like me._

"I hate you." Usi muttered as she turned back to her guardian's last moments.

888

Sakura stared in disbelief as the same leopard she'd saved the kid from landed in front of her. Immediately the flames parted, even froze over in some spots. 'What's going on _now_?' She wondered when the leopard turned around, looked at her, and then looked up at the roof. Sakura glanced up and saw a leopard cub clutching the top of the dojo tightly while whining gently. When she looked back the leopard she'd fought with nodded, licked her on the face, and then launched itself at Seymour with a roar that left Sakura's ears ringing.

Seymour's eyes widened in horror as the leopard burst through Yevon's flames and tore into his chest as it landed on him. Powerful jaws clamped down on his throat, and ice-cold razor sharp claws tore his innards out with what seemed like expert precision. When the pain stopped he found himself oddly relieved.

Until the leopard's claws dug in-between his ribs and tore them open wide enough for its face to fit in. And the last thing Seymour ever saw was his own heart being chewed upon by Usi's guardian.

888

As soon as the leopard started to tear out Seymour's innards Sakura turned away and ran down an alleyway next to the dojo, found a dumpster, and got up onto the roof. As she cleared it the little leopard moaned urgently and she started towards it slowly. "That's your mom down there, isn't it?" she asked soothingly when she was just out of reach of its paws. The cub whined again and Sakura couldn't help but pity it. "You wanna get down from here? I can help you." She held out her hand and the cub leaned forward just enough to sniff it tentatively. "I'm here to help."

The leopard cub shuffled forward slowly until it was close enough for Sakura to pick it up slowly. "Ready?" She asked quietly. The leopard pushed closer to her and she smiled slightly before jumping down to the ground behind Bon, Lusniec, and Auron.

"What the heck? Sakura, where'd you get _that_ from?" Bon demanded when he noticed the leopard cub in her arms.

"Up on the roof." Sakura said quietly. "Her mom's right over there." She nodded towards the leopard that had suddenly become very still. "I don't want her to know yet, though."

"Yeah. Let's get inside." Bon said as he shuffled everyone into the dojo. "Oh, Auron, Lusniec, no fighting, got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I didn't come to fight this fossil anyway." Lusniec muttered as he followed Auron into the dojo. When they were all in Bon walked over to Lusniec's corpse and the stiff leopard cautiously.

"You trust Sakura, don't you?" He asked the leopard even though he knew she was dead. "Don't worry. I think I understand what you were trying to show. We all have things we have to do. Just like you had to protect Sakura, right?" he knelt down next to the leopard and listened to the police and fire truck whistles in the distance. "You wanted to make sure Sakura'd live to make it back to Spira, didn't you? Well don't worry. I'll make sure she makes it back there, to do whatever it is she has to do."

"Bon-Sama, what happened here?" The first officer on the scene questioned as he got out of his care and took in the scene.

Bon pointed down at Seymour and said, "This guy tried to kill my student. Before he had the chance to kill _her_, however, this leopard saved her." The officer stared at him in disbelief. "Yeah, crazy, right?"

"Yeah, kinda." The officer admitted. "Wow… what's with the fires?" Bon just pointed to Seymour again. "And you guys didn't try to stop the leopard?"

"Would _you _have risked your life to help someone trying to kill you?" Bon asked with a chuckle.

"Heh, guess that's true." The officer admitted as he knelt down next to Bon. "Look, you've got a student in there who's probably freaking out about now. I'll handle this, you go take care of her."

"Thank you, officer." Bon said before jogging into the house and heading towards Sakura instantly. "Sakura, you've gotta hide the cub."

"What? Why?" Sakura questioned as she stood up and started towards the bathroom.

"The cops are going to be here soon. Go into your room, and keep her quite, ok? Go, pretend you're crying or something." Bon whispered urgently as several more cars stopped outside. Bon looked Auron and Lusniec over and sighed. "You two had better go with her. If they find you, then you'll get busted for having weapons on you. Besides, you're both really suspicious looking."

"Right." Lusniec muttered as the two slipped into the room after Sakura, who was sitting in a corner with her back to the door. It didn't take long for Bon to get the officers to go away, and with such small fires the fire department hadn't even been needed. A single fire extinguisher would've been enough for the ones that were still burning. But, even though he'd gotten them away relatively fast, it was dark out when he finally got inside.

"They're gone." He said while flopping down on the floor with a sigh. When Sakura walked out she was pale faced and wide eyed, and Auron and Lusniec were grim and determined. "Oh boy."

"She took it well." Lusniec offered jokingly.

"She was already beginning to remember." Auron explained.

"Is that _possible_? I mean, her mind was erased by a goddess wasn't it?" Bon asked.

"Strong emotions and attachments, like the kind that are forged by life-or-death situations, can shield memories, faces, names." Lusniec explained. "Apparently she's been in more life-or-death situations then the one she had against me."

"You tried to kill her?" Bon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I tried to kill her friend. She kept that from happening." Lusniec clarified. "Either way… those emotions can't shield her memories forever. She _has _to get back soon, or she won't be able to remember anything."

"And how do we get her back that fast?" Auron demanded. "The center of the Forest of Death is three days hike no matter how fast you go."

Lusniec sighed. "That's where Matt and Seph come in." He said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Auron questioned.

"_Who_ are you talking about." Bon demanded.

Lusniec ignored Bon's question and stared at Auron instead. "We might be able to tear a hole in Usi's banishment."

"That'd take the power of _at least_ two gods." Auron pointed out. "And at least one person on the other side to complete the tunnel."

"Well, there's me and you on this end. That's at _least_ as much power as one god." Lusniec pointed out. "And on the other side we've got Matt, Seph, Ryan, and all of Sakura's friends."

Auron found himself nodding grimly. "I hate to admit that you're right," he admitted, "but you are. Let's get to work."

888

Matt listened intently as Lusniec explained that there was a way to get Sakura back to Spira despite Usi's power. He'd been so glad to see Seymour meet the bloody, violent end that he deserved that he hadn't even considered that there might be away. But now that he thought about it, it made sense that, with enough help, one god might be able to overpower another.

The question was whether or not he, Seph, and Ryan would be enough to complete the tunnel. Lusniec shouting his name several times brought him back to reality in time to hear him say "Ok, listen Matt. I need you to _tear apart_ the portal in front of you. But do _not _let that rip close, or this whole thing'll be for nothing."

"Oh, hell yes." Matt muttered as he took a step back.

"Not yet, dumb ass." Lusniec barked suddenly. Matt raised an eyebrow. "I can hear everything you say thanks to a… friend. Now don't do anything until I say so, got it?"

"Fine." Matt muttered as he sat down to wait.

888

Seph didn't find it all that odd when Lusniec turned to him next. "You hear that Seph?" the former angel called.

"I do." Seph admitted. "How much power is this going to take exactly?"

"A lot…" Was Lusniec's only answer. Seph bit his lip.

'Now I understand what Zedih was talking about.' Seph thought sadly.

888

When a window like the one Matt had been using opened up in the middle of the group at the same time that Paine walked in the entire group jumped in startled surprise. "Shesh, where did _you _come from?" Nick demanded.

Paine looked at the wall behind her in confusion. "Well I _did _come through a door. But it's not here anymore." Paine said indifferently. "What's with the shining window?"

"Just appeared." Yuna said.

"Well it would appear Ryan didn't go into the trials after all…" Lusniec stated with amusement. His chuckling grew into laughter when Rikku, Yuna, Melody, and Nick all looked around with a small amount of fear evident on their faces. "Oh, don't worry people. I'm not here to fight. Actually… I'm not ever on the same planet as you."

"Then where are you, you big meanie?" Rikku demanded.

"On earth with Sakura." Lusniec replied calmly. "Look in the window if you don't believe me." Everyone crowded around the window and found Lusniec waving at them. "Ok, not that you'll understand, but I need you people to tear that window in half, and _do not let it close_! Understand?"

"Why?" Nick questioned skeptically.

"You want Sakura to come back to Spira? The only way she'll be able to do that is if you tear that window open and don't let it close." Lusniec stated. "But there _is _one thing you should know. It's gonna take a lot of power to tear the window open to begin with. You'll have to use The Wind Cutter, or something equally powerful."

"You know, you're a real pain in my ass Lusniec. Always attacking me or making me work." Ryan pointed out with a sigh.

"Just hit the window with a Wind Cutter when I tell you to, got it?" Lusniec questioned.

"Yeah, yeah. I got ya." Ryan replied as he drew Wind Cutter.

888

"Ok, looks like we're just about ready." Lusniec said as he turned to face Auron and Sakura. "Just wondering, but why aren't me and Sakura allowed to tell anyone you're still alive?"

"I have my reasons." Auron said as he shouldered Masamune. "That's all you need to know. Know open the portal."

"Before I do that…" Lusniec pulled a pair of Tonfas out of a pouch and held them out to Sakura. "You're going to need these back."

"Me?" Sakura asked as she looked at the weapons. "But I already have Tonfas."

Lusniec smiled. "I guess you couldn't have remembered everything." He summarized. "These are the Tonfas of Usi, the ice goddess. They were yours before she tried to erase your memory. If you go back to Spira you're going to need them." Sakura nodded and Lusniec put Frozen Wood in the pouch and handed it to Sakura. Her eyes widened in a mix of confusion, relief, and sadness. "Something wrong?"

Sakura nodded slowly. "I nearly damned two worlds because I was afraid I wasn't good enough!" Lusniec grinned and Auron nodded. "Hurry up, we need to get back to Spira. I've got worlds to save."

"About time." Lusniec said as he drew his reverse blade, cut his thumb on the back, and ran it along the blade. Bon and Sakura stared at the silvery-red glow that followed. "Ready Auron?" The ancient guardian hefted Masamune. "Ok everyone, on three. Three, two, one, _go_!" A silver beam flashed out and stopped in mid-air, tearing a small hole there that slowly expanded. Auron walked around to the other side of it and slashed down with Masamune and the hole hissed and sputtered at him in protest as it began to open more rapidly.

888

As soon as Lusniec had stopped talking to him, Matt had gathered as of Dnorith's power as he could into a single Chidori. When Lusniec shouted "go!" he thrust the super-charged attack into the window, which hissed and shot small bolts of lightning back at him as it slowly expanded. He grunted as energy shot back through his hand and into him, racking his body in pain, but he channeled that into the Chidori too.

'This is too important to give up on.' He shout at himself as the cracking and hissing grew so loud it threatened to deafen him. 'We _have _to bring Sakura back!'

888

"Wind Cutter!" Ryan shouted when Lusniec said "go!" so loudly that everyone looked at him like he was crazy. The silver blade flashed off the sword and slammed into the window. A barrier appeared as the two powers clashed and Ryan felt his heart sinking.

Until Yuna and Melody both yelled "Holy!" at the same time and pointed at the barrier. It shattered under the combined attacks, at which point Nick, Paine, JT, and Rikku started to slash away at the other side, slowly but surely tearing open a rip in the window. Each attack launched holy power back at them, small darts that cut through their skin like it was soggy butter. Yuna and Melody switched to casting restoring magic on JT, Paine, Nick, and Rikku while Ryan kept his own wounds under control with as little magic as possible. He could barely see anything through the light that was being given off by the attacks.

But he didn't have to see to know where to aim the Wind Cutter. And he could practically feel everyone's desperation to help a friend driving them to push harder. He felt obligated to keep up.

888

Seph considered his options as he watched Auron and Lusniec struggling to hold the portal on their end open. Auron was burnt and slashed up, but that didn't seem to stop him since his swings never even broke rhythm. Lusniec's Wind Cutter only started to glow brighter as the seconds ticked by.

And he held no doubt as to whether or not the others were going to be helping yet. He could feel the power Matt's Chidori was giving off even though he didn't know where his fellow god was specifically. When Zedih appeared next to him and stood there he barely moved.

'Is it really worth it to me? I'm here for Rae! If I do this… I might not be able to save _her_.' Seph thought sadly.

"_Welcome to the Trial of Benix._" Zedih said dryly. "_Now you understand why I didn't like this idea to begin with._"

Seph shook his head. 'What am I thinking? Sakura's one of my friends. Gods know I don't have many. And Rae'd _kill _me if we screw this up, which without Sakura we will.' His face paled at the thought of what Rae would do to him if he let Spira's hope die because of her. He shook the disturbing images out of him mind. Even if he _hadn't_ liked Sakura, that was more then enough to convince him to help. Water gathered in front of him at a dizzying speed.

"_I knew you'd make the right choice._" Zedih said gratefully. "_Even if it was for the wrong reasons._"

"I want to help Sakura. I'm not as cold hearted as _everyone _makes me out to be after all…" Seph said, his voice tight with concentrations as he forged the water into a giant pendulum. "Well now, Sakura, it's time to come back home!" He willed the pendulum forward and into the window. A spider web of cracks and fractures shot along the window and Seph pushed again, driving the point deeper and making dozens of new cracks formed and then shattered out as blades of pure energy flashed past him faster then even Ryan could've matched.

888

Lusniec glance back at Sakura and shouted, "Go now! We can't exactly hold this open forever!"

"What about you?" Sakura asked. "Lusniec, I'm not going to leave you on earth! You'll rape someone important!"

"I got here on my own, didn't I?" Lusniec demanded. "I'll go back, you can count on that. This world's too weird for me."

"Sakura, go." Bon suggested gently. "The fate of _two worlds_ full of innocent people depends on you being there. You _can't _let this go!"

"Oh, fine!" She shouted as she squeezed the leopard cub a little tighter. "Look out on the other side!"

Lusniec moved to the side so that her path was unobstructed. He watched as she jumped past him, face pale but determined. 'I've gotta admit. For someone who was so gun-ho to come back to Earth, she's pretty determined now.' He thought, slightly impressed by the change of attitude. Then she disappeared, and he followed after her, twisting to the right a little as he went in. After all, he had a sword to get.

888

Matt found he was falling forward slightly and realized that Usi's barrier must've been giving away. There was a flash of light that knocked him on his back. Almost immediately something hard hit him in the stomach and he gasped in pain and surprise.

A cat paw started scratching his face so he put his hand in the way and opened his eyes to find himself starting a snow leopard in the eyes. 'No, a cub.' He decided when it let out a frightened whine and tried to squeeze out from under something blue. "Sakura?" Matt whispered.

"Sakura? I thought it was Sakura-_chan_?" Sakura asked as she shifted so her elbow wasn't digging into either Matt or the cub.

"Your elbow being under my ribs was rather distracting. Not to mention being attacked by a leopard cub." Matt pointed out.

"Oh… right." Sakura said as she rested her head on Matt's chest.

"Something wrong?" Matt asked when she didn't move to get up.

"How am I supposed to face them, Matt?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Matt? And what do you mean by that?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I left everyone willingly. I _wanted _to go home!" Sakura whispered. "Even though I knew it meant Spira being damned… How am I supposed to face everyone after that?"

"Well, you could start with an apology. And an explanation as to why you have a leopard cub…" Matt added as the leopard climbed onto Sakura's back and laid down to watch them.

Sakura raised her head so that she was looking at his face and smiled. "That's an interesting story. One that I'd rather _not _have to tell multiple times though." Sakura declared. "And what's with the lack of a '_chan_' here? My elbow's not under your ribs anymore."

"What's with the lack of a '_kun_'? It's not like you're in any overly distracting pain." Matt pointed out.

"I never gave that as my reason." Sakura replied defensively. "You know… now that I think about it…"

"Think about what?" Matt questioned when she trailed off.

"Just thinking about how many guys would love to be in you position right about now." She finished up with a shy smile.

"Hmmmm… that's probably a pretty big number, isn't it?" He asked jokingly.

"You have _no _idea." Sakura muttered. "Have you ever seen someone open their locker in an anime and tons of letters and stuff just dropped out?"

"Yeah, I believe I have." Matt admitted.

"I _am _that girl." Sakura said with a grin.

"Well, I really _am _lucky then." Matt said with a sigh. Sakura nodded and rested her head against his shoulder, and for the first time in a long time, she wasn't the least bit scared.

* * *

well, hope you liked it. Read and Review, hopefully it won't take so long! and go read What The! after you review of course. 


	10. Aftermath

SURPRISE! a double update for all RotG/What The fans out there! now onto the reviews!

Shadowkiller27- soon enough? and as for R&R your stories, i'll try, but i can't promise anything. sorry.

Da KeR MysTeRr-I MISSED ALL OF YOU PEOPLE TOO! lol, that's a _big _pile of books there. glad i updates at such a convineint time, and i definately spelled that word wrong... ah well. and an hour? those must've been some pretty long breaks. i mean it was only 40 some pages, right? XD anyway, i hate that too. when the author can't keep the point of view thing simple it gets annoying. i tried that a little towrds the end of this chapter, so lemme know how i do! and what was that you were pointing to? me saw nothing. wait.. distraction? ahhh XD good one. and what in the name of yevon possesed you to take _three _college courses _in a row_? that's like... GPA SUICIDE! and you've been talking to andy too much? andy who, 'cause it sounds like me friend. yes lusniec's not exactly evil now. and yes, seymour causes many muscles spasms. and everyone seems to hate him. that's why Usi's -shivers- guardian got to kill him. and i agree! down with the leprechauns!

Bstgoalie31- well, i didn't expect you to not blink while you read it! and its not firday night, but its close, right? so, before you read this, go reread chapter 8 so you know what the heck is going on since you seemed exhausted when you finished it...

Auron's Fan- run from your mom! oh wait.. you already did... and we posted on the same day! creepy... yes, lusniec was kool. and yes, auron was there. and i can't wait to read the pieces of chapter 20 that i didn't get to beta 'cause of me sister!

lightningwizard- yeah, well, it didn't! ha! yeah, paine was left out of the loop, and yes, the rift thing was kool. oh, me revieved your story! buwahahahahahahahah!

KamiKaze no Kage- yeah. kimonos are scary when guys are wearing them, so he'll be keeping those pants. as for seymour being dead again... -dances on his grave- need isay more? yeah, love very well maybe blooming. if so ipity matt. you'll understand why after this chapter. and is this fast enough for you all?

Zach Shuzo- yay! new fan! go you! and go me! the best? yay! and don't worry, there's at least two more books in this series ;-p

Anasazi Darkmoon- i take it you lived in/near New Orleans? that sux. sorry to hear that. i hope this chapter and the last chapter give you a little pick-me-up! and i'm glad you could see the events in your head, that's pretty much my goal. and here's the next chapter!

Sejast Fanel- you reviewed! and here's the next chapter... dont' die of boredom! cya!

SLy- hey! i dont' mind. hahaha! you have lots of tests and stuff! me have easy classes! go me! and me no girl! grrrr... oh well. me suck at currency too. yes, seymour getting ripped to pieces was great. me enjoyed writing that part of the story -evil chuckling- and is this soon enough for you?

* * *

Chapter 9 

Matt sighed as Sakura's leopard cub started to play with his hair again. He glanced at Sakura and sighed again.

She was still sleeping. 'Just like for the past… how long _has _she been sleeping?' he didn't really know. All he knew was the leopard was going to find his hat soon, if something else hadn't already, and if it did his hat was done for. 'And I've had that hat for years. No way I'm loosing it in a damn cave!'

With a deep breath he shook Sakura gently and prayed she wasn't violent when she was asleep. When she only muttered something to him he was grateful and sad at the same time. And the leopard had stopped messing with his hair, which made him fear the worst for his hat. "Sorry Sakura." He whispered into the goddess's ear as he put his hands on her waist and started to lift her up gently.

Sakura slapped him in the hand so suddenly he dropped her, nearly knocking the wind out of him. "What'd you want?" She questioned as she stretched, forgetting where she was for a second. When she realized that she was still lying on Matt, who was grinning at her, she looked up at him and rubbed her eyes to hide her embarrassment.

Before he answered he turned as much as he could and found the leopard holding his hat out for him with her mouth. 'Well that's good to see.' He thought, somewhat embarrassed as he put the hat on. "I wanted my hat back."

"You woke me up for your _hat_?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Well, that was _one _part of it. This hat's special to me. I've had it for years."

"Really?" Sakura questioned.

"Four, actually. At least." Matt added. "Besides, you were asleep for at _least _an hour. What do you think the others are doing waiting for us?"

"I have no idea…" Sakura admitted. "Oh, fine, you win. Which way is out?"

Matt pointed behind her and she rolled off and helped him up. "Anyway, what're you going to name her?"

"Who?" Sakura asked through a yawn.

"Your cub." Matt said as he looked at the cub that was walking along in-between them.

"Oh, right. Well, to be honest, I'm not sure. I didn't think I'd end up getting to keep her." Sakura giggled as the cub leapt up on Matt's back, nearly knocking him over.

"Shesh, sharp claws." Matt complained as he picked the cub up and held her out in front of him.

"Cute, isn't she?" Sakura asked.

"I don't normally admit to things like this, but I'm gonna have to agree." Matt admitted, drawing a smile from Sakura and a soft purring noise from the cub. "We still need to name her…"

Sakura stared at the cub for a few seconds. "She's really white."

"She _is _a snow leopard…" Matt pointed out.

"I know." Sakura replied calmly as she took the cub and turned her around. "But look. The markings on her are almost non existent." She pointed out. "Given that… I think I'll name her Snow."

"It fits." Matt agreed. "It's better then 'leopard' at the very least."

"I'm glad you approve." Sakura said as she hugged Snow again.

888

"What _kept _you two?" Nick demanded when Sakura and Matt walked into the waiting in room through a door nobody had seen.

"We had some… problems to deal with." Sakura said before Rikku and Melody gasped in surprise at Snow.

"It's so cute!" Rikku shouted as she jumped up and ran over excitedly. "Can I hold it?"

"Yeah, just be careful Rikku-chan. Her claws are sharper then she thinks." Sakura pointed out as Rikku and picked Snow and was joined by Melody in fawning over the leopard cub. "I just hope she gets along with Baby as well as she does with Melody and Rikku…"

"Yeah, I hope so too." Ryan agreed. "I mean, I'd rather not have to constantly have Baby on my head. He's got sharp little claws too."

"Stop complaining dude." Nick ordered. "Now I know we're all excited about Sakura coming back, but didn't we come here to rescue Rae, I believe it was?"

"He's right. Why're we wasting our time here?" Seph demanded as he walked in through another door that nobody had seen, Paine close behind.

"Because we were waiting for you." Matt stated easily. "Now that we've got _one _friend back, lets go get our other friend, shall we?"

"Do we even know which way to go?" Paine questioned.

"You seek the one that Yevon has imprisoned here?" A Lydc guard asked as he walked into the room.

"Yeah, we do." Seph answered immediately. "Where is she?"

"Please, follow me." The Lydc said indifferently before turning and walking out of the room. The group shared curious glances before following, only to find they were walking through a corridor filled with hundreds of Lydc warriors in full armor.

"This might have gone badly…" Ryan noted nervously.

"It still might." Seph pointed out. "We _are _strangers in their land. Don't' let your guard down."

"A wise precaution," Their guard admitted, "but an unnecessary one. You four are the first to complete the Trials of Benix since they were created. It is necessary that we treat you with the respect you've earned. Attacking you would have been dishonorable to us."

"At least they're honorable." JT said cheerfully.

"JT, this isn't the time to be joking around." Seph said sadly as he caught several scornful glares at once. "I don't think they want us to be here at all."

"We do not." Their guide admitted. "Nor do we want your friends here. We simply wish to be left in peace to prepare for our war."

"Prepare for your war?" Matt questioned.

"That is not a concern of yours, outsider." Their guide replied sharply. "You shall meet with your friends, and then leave as the elders have ordered. If you do not, you all will be executed."

"I'm not used to such warm welcomes." Nick commented as they walked into a giant room that seemed impossible to hide under ground.

"Do not wander or you will be executed." Their guard warned gravely. "I am not fond of outsiders, but I do not wish for any unnecessary bloodshed. Your friend is in that room. Knock before you enter." After pointing towards a door to their right he left.

888

When someone started to knock on the door Rae, Kitty, and Gippal all stared at it in shock. "I thought they wouldn't be done for another hour at most!" Rae whispered.

"I told you, I was guessing! No ones ever actually made it through the trials before, remember?" Kitty hissed back as she stood up and walked over to the door. "Who is it?"

"We're here for Rae, so please open up or step away from the door." Seph replied pleasantly as a little bit of water started to seep through the door frame. "I'd suggest hurrying up, by the way." Gippal barely tackled Kitty in time to keep her from being crushed by the door. "Don't say I never did anything for you."

"Seph!" Rae cried as she ran over and tackled him. "Oh my god, I'm so glad to see you!"

"Great to see you too, Rae." JT commented dryly as he lead the others into the room.

"Oh my god…" Rae whispered, forgetting about Seph completely as she watched JT walk into the room. "You're… _tall_."

"It's been seven years…" JT muttered.

"And you still don't like your older sister." Rae said with a sigh.

"Not true." JT countered. "If I didn't, I'd have left you here to rot in what I _expected _to be a dirty, dingy, dungeon cell."

"I suppose that's true…" Rae admitted as she stood up and hugged JT.

"Hey, hey, hey! Relax!" JT demanded. "Help!"

"I didn't know JT's sister would be so… clingy…" Melody commented as she watched her boyfriend try to escape his sister in vain.

"I didn't know she'd humiliate him like this…" Seph added with a snicker.

"Oh, you know you're jealous." Ryan taunted.

"Very true. What's a guy gotta do to get some att--" Seph's sentence was suddenly cut off as Rae's fist connected with his jaw.

"Ow…" Matt chuckled as Seph's eyes widened in confusion.

"What was that for?" Seph demanded.

"Oh, I'm _just _getting started." Rae stated as she cracked her knuckles. "You taught JT martial arts!"

"What? What makes you think that?" Seph demanded.

"Please, you think my little brother could make it here without _some _training with the kind of shit you get into?" Rae shouted.

"Rae…" Gippal said calmingly. "We've finally got a chance to _leave_, and you'd rather kill _Seph_?"

"Yes." Rae said flatly as she kneed Seph in the groin, doubling him over in pain. "It's a _damn_ good stress reliever! And it was my _little brother!_" Rae added.

"Hey, I'm not exactly _little _anymore! Hell, _I _asked _Seph_ to train me!" JT shouted.

"What?" Rae shrieked. "Why? You _knew _what he did! Why would you _ask_ him?"

"Because of what he did…" JT muttered.

"So what _else_ have I missed, hmm?" Rae questioned. "Any other secrets I should know about?"

"Well I'm not a virgin anymore…" JT said with a slight grin.

"_What?_" Rae shrieked.

"I didn't know Rae could shout so loud…" Kitty whimpered as she covered her ears.

"She's just going to get louder…" Gippal muttered.

"_Louder_?" Kitty asked in disbelief. "Is that _normal_?"

"No. Rae's got strong lungs…" Gippal stated.

"Gippal! What's up?" Rikku said enthusiastically. "Look at what Sakura got!"

"What is _that_?" Gippal questioned when Rikku held up Snow.

"I don't… Ryan, what's Snow again?" Rikku asked helplessly.

"Snow leopard cub." Ryan replied as he walked over. "Hey Gippal."

"Hey Sir Ryan." Gippal jeered.

"Hey, none of that stuff. I thought we went over this last time." Ryan said distractedly as he watched Seph rolling, jumping, and stumbling in his race to stay a few steps ahead of Rae. "Poor guy…"

"I agree." Kitty commented as she watched Rae get Seph in a strange variation of a strangle hold that left the assassin helpless. "Think we should help him?"

"Hmmmm… well JT was with him when he had sex for the first time. And he did teach JT martial arts, which apparently Rae doesn't approve of…" Matt pointed out.

"I think we should let them go." Sakura said quickly. "Seph-san brought this on himself."

"That's true." Nick agreed. "Very, _very _cold, but true."

"Well, like I said. He brought it upon himself." Sakura repeated.

"Well, I guess since Rae's busy killing Seph… I get to do introductions." Gippal said with a sigh. "Ok, I suppose I should start with the people right here. Kitty, these are Sakura, Matt, Ryan, and Rikku." Gippal pointed to each one in turn. "Everyone, this is Kitty."

"Hey Kitty-chan!" Sakura said happily.

"Nice to meet you." Ryan offered.

"Howdy!" Rikku said with as much enthusiasm as ever.

"Hi." Matt offered before going back to watching Seph turn blue in Rae's choke hold.

"Hey, Gippal. What about me?" Nick questioned.

"I was… saving the best for last?" Gippal offered.

"Clnaf oui (Screw you)." Nick muttered before turning to Kitty. "Hey, I'm Nick."

"Nice to meet you all." Kitty said as she picked Snow up. "And of course we've got Snow, right?" The cub purred and Kitty started to scratch her behind the ears.

"Ok, now. The one in leather with the silver hair is Paine, and the brunette standing next to her is Lady Yuna." Gippal said.

"Hi. I'm Yuna. It's nice to meet you." Yuna said as she cast a worried glance over at Seph.

"Paine doesn't talk a lot…" Gippal added when Paine didn't say anything. "Ok, next is… well… I don't know."

Melody turned around and found Gippal and Kitty looking at her. "Oh, my name's Melody. I'm JT's girlfriend."

"That was a bad thing to say…" Gippal stated as Rae dropped Seph and walked over to her. "Rae… calm down. Don't do anything stupid." He warned.

"Ehhh… yes?" Melody asked as Rae glared at her so fiercely JT slipped behind his girlfriend and wrapped his arms around her, fixing his sister with a fierce glare of his own.

"_Seph!_" Rae shouted, drawing a horrified expression from the barely conscious assassin.

"Hey, I had nothing to do with that one!" Seph pleaded. "They hooked up on their own, I swear!" Rae continued to stalk towards him silently. "Damn it! I hope you guys don't mind hanging out with another unsent!"

"Fine, fine. Come on, Rae." Ryan said as he put a hand on her shoulder gently. Rae whirled around on him, winked, and pushed him to the ground before continuing her march towards Seph.

"Help?" Seph requested before jumping up onto steps of water he'd just created.

'The Lord of Water?' Kitty thought in disbelief. 'He's here! I can go to the surface!'

"Something wrong, Kitty?" Rikku asked. Kitty blinked and then realized her face must've looked hilarious.

"I can go with Rae! I can go to the surface!" Kitty said excitedly.

"Oh… ok then…" Rikku said, attempting to be polite even though she was lost.

"I'll explain later." Gippal whispered to her.

"Thanks." Rikku whispered back.

"Seph, get down here!" Rae ordered.

"Are you going to kill me?" Seph demanded.

"Yes." Rae said cheerfully.

"Then why the _hell _would I come down?" Seph demanded.

"Because if you don't it'll be more painful." Rae said calmly.

"Rae, no! You can't kill him… yet." Kitty said as she wrapped her arms around Rae from behind. "I can't leave if you do, remember?"

"I… but… oh, fine!" Rae shouted in defeat. "But once we're on the surface your ass is _mine_." Seph's face paled as he came down.

"Thank you Rae!" Kitty said happily.

"Well it is your dream… and I can kill Seph later, so it works out fine." Rae said with a grin.

"Uhhh… explanation?" Matt asked slowly.

"Oh, right… you guys don't exactly know about Kitty and her people, do you?" Rae asked with a chuckle. "Well… they aren't allowed to travel to the surface until a man who can walk on water comes to their city. And Kitty's dream is to go to the surface. Hell, she nearly killed me when she thought I was making fun of it…"

"I see…" Matt said slowly.

"Yep. And now that Seph's here, and he _will _show them that he can walk on water, we can make that dream come true." Rae stated firmly. "And I'm going to assume that we can expect your full cooperation, right Seph?"

"Right. Anything you want, just don't hurt me anymore." The former assassin said quickly.

"All right, then lets get out of here." Rae said as she reached for the door.

"Rae, get back!" Kitty shouted as she grabbed her friend and dove to the side.

"Kitty?" Rae questioned just before the door exploded in a wave of razor sharp rocks. "Wow… thanks Kitty!"

"Well, isn't this just touching?" Lusniec asked as he stepped through the door calmly. Everyone in the room tensed, hands on their weapons. "How could you people not know I was coming?"

"Because we try to avoid confrontations with gay angels who want to kill and, or rape our friend." Matt said grimly.

"Thank you, Matt, for that _oh _so wonderful mental image." Ryan said sarcastically. "Now, why have you _graced _us with your presence this time?"

Lusniec pointed towards his hip and stated, "You stole my sword. I'm here to get it back."

"Where the hell did you get the idea that I stole it?" Ryan questioned.

"It's _my _sword, but _you're _using it. That's where. Now _give _it to me."

"Ummm… no…" Ryan said slowly. Lusniec took a deep breath and studied him for a few seconds.

"You're insulting me, you know that don't you?" Lusniec asked finally.

"How do you figure that?" Ryan questioned.

"I'm standing here, but you haven't made a single move to draw your sword." Lusniec snarled. "It's just plain insulting for a fighter of my level."

"It's got nothing to do with you." Ryan said with a shrug. "Actually… I guess it _sorta_ does."

"What the _hell _are you mumbling about?" Lusniec questioned.

Ryan wrapped his arms around Rikku's shoulder and smiled. "I promised Rikku that I wouldn't fight you unless I had to."

"You really think you can avoid fighting me?" Lusniec asked in disbelief.

"No… not really, anyway." Ryan said helplessly. "I mean, I wouldn't _mind _not having to fight, but I'm not dumb enough to think I can just walk past you."

"Good. Now draw your weapon." Lusniec ordered.

"Do I have to?" Ryan asked quietly.

"Yes." Lusniec said, irritation seeping into his voice. "Now, _draw your weapon_!"

"You think we're just going to let you attack our friend?" Matt asked as he drew Lightning Edge and placed himself between the two swordsmen.

"Seriously, who do you take us for?" Nick questioned as he stepped in behind Matt.

"We don't abandon our friends." JT added as he and Seph stepped in front of Matt.

"You really think _any _of you can touch me?" Lusniec asked in disbelief.

"You think we're not going to try?" Matt countered.

"Fine. This'll be fun." Lusniec said as he drew his sword. "Ready?" Before anyone could answer he disappeared.

"What the hell?" Ryan wondered aloud.

"Where is he?" Matt questioned as he started to turn in a slow circle, hoping to catch a glimpse of Lusniec.

"I… don't know…" Ryan said with quickly growing fear.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Tsui Sen!" Lusniec said as his blade slammed Ryan into the ground so hard he left an imprint. "Huh… I kind of expected more…" Lusniec muttered as he reached down and grabbed Wind Cutter, throwing his reverse blade down in the process. "Well, now that I have _this _back, I'll be leaving…"

"I don't think so!" Matt shouted as he hurled a Chidori at the gay angel. Lusniec grinned widely as Wind Cutter started to glow.

"You're a fool!" He shouted as he slashed down, cutting through the Chidori and nailing Nick, Matt, JT, and Seph with a Wind Cutter that knocked each of them out instantly. "Well, anyone else?"

"Bastard!" Gippal shouted as he and Yuna started firing on Lusniec as fast as they could. Lusniec sighed as the bullets connected with an invisible shield, until Kitty and a fiend Rae'd summoned slammed into him from behind.

"Get lost!" Lusniec ordered as a wave of holy energy slammed into Kitty, knocking her back into Rae with rib shattering force. Without missing a beat Wind Cutter flashed around in a small arc, beheading the fiend without any resistance. "I've missed you so much."

"You meanie!" Rikku shouted as she jumped at him, only to be kicked into a wall, barely missing Gippal and Yuna.

"Hey, that was uncalled for!" Gippal shouted until Lusniec appeared in front of him and kneed him in the face so hard that he nearly snapped the Al Bhed's neck. He pushed off Gippal's body, landed behind Yuna and knocked the high Summoner out with a quick chop to the neck.

"Anyone else? I'm offering a group discount." Lusniec said cheerfully. Paine raised her sword and began to circle slowly, much to Lusniec's amusement. "You think _you _can do anything when your friends couldn't?" Lusniec stepped forward and glared at her. "Last chance, broad. Scram while you still can."

"Go to hell." Paine replied without breaking stride. Lusniec disappeared and she raised her guard, only to have him punch her in the stomach so hard she coughed up blood.

"Don't say I didn't warn you!" Lusniec growled as he spun around.

And found Sakura's foot consuming his vision at what he could only assume was terminal velocity. He snapped his head to the right, instead taking a flying elbow that only broke his nose. "Hey, Lusniec, why don't you worry about _yourself_?" Sakura questioned as she turned to face him again.

Lusniec glared daggers at her as he snapped his nose back into place. "Not bad, Sakura. Very tricky."

"Well I wasn't about to let you hurt Paine-chan anymore." Sakura shot back.

"Then how about I hurt you instead?" Lusniec asked as Wind Cutter disappeared and he picked up his reverse blade.

"What the hell? Now _you're _the one doing the insulting." Sakura spat.

"Not really. I told you, I only came to get Wind Cutter. And I said 'how about I _hurt _you instead' not how about I kill you." Lusniec stated with a shrug. "I believe Yevon wants that pleasure for himself." Sakura rolled her eyes and Lusniec felt relief wash through him. She'd bought the lie after all.

"Well thanks, Lusniec. I didn't know my life meant anything to you." Sakura said with a phantom of a smile.

"You won't be thanking me when this is over!" Lusniec shouted as he shot forward to shoulder Sakura in the chest. The goddess smiled, spun out of the way, and nearly took his feet out as he past. By the time he'd gotten his balance again she was read for the second exchange. Lusniec spat and looked her over again before smiling. "Agile little wench."

"I'm _nobody's_ wench." Sakura stated in a dangerous tone.

"Heh, touchy aren't we?" Lusniec taunted. "So what's going on between you and Matt?"

"That's none of your business." Sakura hissed back.

"I suppose not. But this conversation is getting rather… dull." Lusniec said with mock sorrow. "So… Hiten Mitsurugi Style Kuzu Ryu Sen!" Sakura's eyes widened in fear as Lusniec bolted towards her. Instinct took over, water vapor froze, and Sakura twisted. "Useless!" Lusniec shouted as he shattered the wall of ice in front of him, only to see Sakura twist out of the way of all nine attacks by a hairs breath, and then slam one of her Tonfas into his face.

"_Not _useless." Sakura said as she gasped for air. 'I think I used too much magic.'

"You're incredible." Lusniec said quietly. "The Kuzu Ryu Sen is nearly unstoppable. I didn't think it was possible to dodge it." He stood up and dusted himself off, enjoying the horrified look on Sakura's face. "Every time I fight you I see just how much more I've got to learn. It's irritating."

"What the hell _are _you?" Sakura demanded. "Shouldn't your… skull, or _something_, be broken?"

Lusniec shrugged as he sheathed his sword. "Regardless, it's time to end this. So come on."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat. 'Battou Jutsu stance. Hiten Mitsurugi Style's most deadly attacks come from that stance.' She thought as she struggled to keep herself from shaking. 'With his speed… I'll never be able to dodge. But I should be able to block. He's using a reverse blade, so the blade will come out a little slower. As much as I don't like it, with his endurance, I'll never win if I don't end it here.'

"You coming?" Lusniec questioned. "Oh, I suppose you want _me _to lead, don't you?"

"No, I'm coming." Sakura stated as she started towards him at full speed. 'Stay focused!'

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style…" Lusniec said as he compressed himself like a spring until Sakura was just outside of his striking distance, "_final attack_!" Sakura froze involuntarily, amazed by the declaration. The reverse blade slammed into her, and the world disappeared instantly as she nearly went through the wall. Lusniec sighed and tossed the reverse blade to the ground, then walked over and pulled her out gently.

"Get away from here!" Paine growled.

"You want her to die?" Lusniec asked as he set her down. "I still have uses for her. I can't let her die yet." He glanced over to Melody and said, "You. After I leave take care of Yuna and Ryan. Between the three of you, you should be able to heal everyone else." And with that he disappeared.

888

_Well, milady, it would appear I have to leave you now._ Lusniec's wind spirit said with a hint of sadness.

"Why's that?" Usi asked calmly.

_My lord has returned to this world. I have to go to him in case he needs me._ The spirit replied.

"I see. I guess we all have people we're loyal to, though I don't know how you're loyal to that scum bag." Usi said sadly.

_You know that Sakura's back in Spira don't you?_ The spirit asked after several minutes.

"What?" Usi demanded. "Sakura's back in Spira?"

_It's true. The reason you could not watch after Seymour was defeated was because you'd cut Sakura off from your power. With the death of your guardian, you had no medium on Earth. However, I could see through lord Lusniec's eyes. Sakura has returned._ The spirit said in a somewhat bragging manner. _Seph, Matt, Ryan, Lusniec, Sir Auron, and Lady Yuna's group tore open a hole in your barrier to save their friend, and your guardian died to save her. Even without your power she was able to summon a wall of ice between my lord and herself. Don't you think it's about time you see what she can do with your _full _backing?_

"How… how can Auron be on Earth?" Usi wondered to herself as the spirit left. "He died… was even sent by the high Summoner."

A burst of flames signaled Vena's arrival. "Auron is on earth?" He asked in disbelief.

"Apparently so. He helped Sakura return…_ after_ I had banished her from Spira." Usi said as she ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "But _why _would Auron be on earth? It makes _no _sense what so ever!"

"Since when has that bastard _ever _been easy to figure out?" Vena questioned, sitting down on a piece of ice and, for the first time since Usi'd known him, seemed exhausted.

"I suppose it must be hard." Usi said quietly.

"What?" Vena asked dully.

"Knowing that that bastard Yevon's running around with most of your powers, in your heir's body, trying to get rid of all the other heirs and us as well." Usi said sadly.

"I haven't slept in nearly two years…" Vena said quietly.

"Because of your link with Andy, right?" Usi guessed.

"Every time I _do _manage to sleep, I see what Yevon and Andy see. These past two years… he's done things that I didn't think _anything _could do Usi. He's reached a new low, even for the scum bag he is." He balled his hands into fist and hit the ground, instantly melting ice that hadn't melted when being submerged in his volcano's lava. "The worst part is knowing that Andy can see it all too. And he can't stop. I can't even imagine, I'm _afraid _to imagine what he's seen, Usi."

Usi walked over and wrapped a comforting arm around his shoulders, only to pull it away in shock. "Vena, you _cold_!"

"Yeah…" The god of fire whispered. "Lately Yevon's been drawing on Andy's power a lot. To keep Andy form either disappearing entirely, or becoming part of Yevon, I've had to shield his soul with my own power."

Usi wrapped her arms around him and in a flash they were in Vena's dimension. "You need to rest, understand? You _can't _die on us." She said quietly. "We'll all pitch in to take care of Andy, just worry about yours--" her words died in her throat when Vena started to contort in pain, quickly beginning to cough up blood. "Vena! _Vena_?" She shouted as she tried to get him to relax.

When he finally did stop coughing his normally tan face was pale as a bone, and his eyes were slightly glazed over and out of focus. "Sorry…" He whispered. "Yevon's… using Andy's powers…"

"Vena… you're not just getting weaker, or tired are you?" Usi asked several minutes of silence. When Vena didn't say anything she asked something she'd never imagined asking. "Vena, are you dying?"

The god of fire gave her an exhausted, and sad smile. "I think so…" he admitted quietly. Usi just stared at him in disbelief.

She'd always just assumed he'd be there if she ever need him for anything. He'd been the first of the gods to make her feel like she deserved her power, and he'd been the only one she'd been able to talk to for the first hundred some years. She'd never _loved _him, but she'd always thought she'd be able to talk to him if she needed to. He was the closest thing she'd ever had to a brother, or a father, or any other family.

'And now he's dying…' she thought as a heavy weight settled on her chest. 'Because I didn't choose my heir fast enough. If Sakura had been in Spira two years ago Andy would be fine, Ryan and Matt would've been able to stay in Spira, and he'd be fine.' And when she thought about it, about all the times she'd run to him when she had problems, she couldn't think of one time she'd helped him out. "Why didn't you tell me?" Usi asked in a trembling voice.

"I didn't want to upset you." Vena said sadly. "See? You're crying. I can't stand it when you cry."

Usi wiped her eyes and stood up slowly. "I've got to go for awhile, ok? Don't die on me."

"Where're you going?" Vena demanded.

Usi stopped and sighed deeply. "To admit that I made a mistake." She said quietly as ice started to form around her. Just before it encased her completely she added in a whisper, "And trust someone for the first time in a long time."

888

When a bolt of ice nearly impaled him, Lusniec knew he had a rather upset, rather _powerful_ visitor in the Den of Woe. When he turned around and found Usi stalking towards him he nearly lost his last meal. "Hey… Usi…" He said nervously.

Usi's reply was to shoot another shard of ice at him, one that split into dozens of little ones when he tried to cut it in half. As they flashed past him, slicing his arms to ribbons, Usi continued her silent march towards him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lusniec demanded as he healed his arms. "Coming into my home, att--"

"Shut up." Usi said so venomously that Lusniec's mouth shut instinctively. "You hit Sakura with the Amakakeru Ryu no Hirameki, didn't you?" she demanded.

"Yes…" Lusniec admitted, too nervous to even considering a lie. Usi's eyes flashed, and ice froze him to the ground. "Hey, back off Usi." Lusniec ordered fiercely. "I'm having a good day, for your own sake do _not _ruin it."

Usi replied by punching him in the face so hard that the ground he was frozen to pulled off the floor and flew backwards a dozen feet. Her next punch launched him to the ceiling twenty feet above, and when he landed she began to grind his face into the ground with the heel of her shoe until blood began to leak out from under his face. At that point she reached down, grabbed a handful of hair, and yanked up until they were looking each other in the eye. She held out her hand and two daggers made completely of ice appeared, and then she drove them into every place she could think of where they _wouldn't _be fatal, each one drawing a distorted scream of pain from the swordsman.

"If you ever so much at _look_ at Sakura again, I'll come back and we'll have another chat, understand?" She hissed dangerously before throwing him on the ground, where she was sure he'd suffer for hours, and disappearing in a shower of icicles.

888

Sakura didn't understand why she was floating until she felt cool arms wrap around her shoulders. "Usi?" She asked calmly.

"Hi Sakura." Usi said quietly. Sakura jerked free of the goddess touch and turned around to face her.

"What the hell do _you _want?" Sakura demanded.

Usi let out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Sakura asked in confusion. "You're _sorry_?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. For dragging you into this. For loosing faith in you. For banishing you to earth and then trying to erase your memories of Spira and everything to do with it." Usi clarified. "For not bringing you here sooner…"

"Why should you be sorry for not bringing me her sooner?" Sakura asked hotly.

"Because… my best friend…" Usi bit her lip so hard that it started to bleed. "My best friend's dying because of it." She said finally. Sakura stared at her and then, after what seemed like an eternity, sat down.

"Your best friend's dying? Because I wasn't here two years ago?" Sakura asked, her voice not quite so sharp as before.

"Yeah." Usi admitted. "Vena, the god of fire, is dying. But you can't tell anyone!" Usi added in quickly.

"Why shouldn't I?" Sakura questioned. "And for that matter, why should I care that Vena's dying?"

"_You _shouldn't. As for why shouldn't you tell anyone? Just… don't. You and I are the only ones who know. If Yevon knew, we'd loose this battle instantly." Usi said slowly.

Sakura rolled her eyes and stood up. "Where am I?"

"In between Spira and the Farplane." Usi told her.

"Farplane? You mean I'm going to the afterlife?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"No. Lusniec's attack nearly killed you, but no quite. It just brought you so close that your souls will stay here until your body isn't so beat up." Usi explained.

"I see." Sakura said before turning in a slow circle, taking in the ever-expanding dimension of pure white.

"Sakura, I admit that I have a question for you…" Usi said after awhile.

"And that is?" Sakura hissed.

Usi took a deep breath before asking, "Can you save Vena?" Sakura turned her head so she could see Usi, and then raised and eyebrow. "I'll ask again: Can you save Vena? And Andy."

"How the _fuck_ should I know?" Sakura shouted. "No, excuse me, how the fuck _could _I?"

"You're the heir to my po-" before Usi could finish her statement Sakura whirled and kicked her in the jaw so hard that she knocked a tooth out and forced the goddess to the ground.

"Fuck. You. I don't owe _you _anything." Sakura said slowly, emphasizing each word with a sharp kick to Usi's gut. When Usi pushed herself up on her hands Sakura kicked her in the stomach again, flipping the goddess around so she was gazing up at her furious successor. "So why the hell should I help you? Hmmm?" When Usi didn't answer Sakura pressed down with her foot, drawing a cry of pain from the goddess. "_Well_?" she demanded.

"Please… Sakura, please!" Usi gasped in pain as Sakura increased the weight. "You shouldn't!" she shouted finally.

"Then why're you asking me to?" Sakura demanded with a razor edged voice, although she did take her foot off of Usi who, Sakura noted, had tears running down her face. The sight struck Sakura as so funny she couldn't help but laugh at the goddess misery.

"Because…" Usi gasped through her tears, "you're the only person I can trust." Sakura's laughter ended abruptly.

"What do you mean by that?" The goddess took several deep breaths, and Sakura suddenly felt incredibly guilty for having attacked her so heartlessly. She lifted the goddess's head onto her lap and moved her hair off her tear and blood streaked face.

And realized just how right and natural the simple motion felt, as Usi began to get control of her tears. "I mean that I can't trust anyone else." The goddess said finally. "There's no one else I believe in enough to do it. Zedih's an assassin. Dnortih's too calm and calculating to do it, and Vena's dying."

Sakura felt her heart breaking as she stared into the goddess watery eyes. "I… but how? I can't stop Yevon, I can't even stop Lusniec." She said softly.

"You can." Usi said gently. "Sakura, if you didn't want to come back from earth then the portal wouldn't have let you come back. Seymour would have killed you. My guardian, Snow, died protecting you from Seymour because she believed in you. Matt, Seph, Ryan, JT, Paine, Rikku, Melody, Yuna, Nick, Auron, and even _Lusniec _risked their lives to open a portal for you to return through." Sakura felt herself shaking a little. "We all believe in you, Sakura. Even Lusniec. I think _that's _why he used the reverse bladed sword."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked. "He told me Yevon wanted to kill me himself."

"Lusniec… has had a change of heart lately." Usi said with a smile. "He saved you from that gang. He _didn't _kill any of you just recently when he very easily could've killed you all. He's even cracked a _joke_."

"Lusniec believes in me?" Sakura repeated in shock.

"Listen, don't tell anyone, but I think Lusniec's starting to realize exactly how evil Yevon is. He wasn't always evil you know." Usi stated.

"Wow, did he ever have a girlfriend?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"No, he's always been gay." The two shared a grin. "He just wasn't always evil. At one time he was just like Ryan… just with a shorter temper, and he was _much _more willing to kill when the need arose."

"Wow… I didn't know Lusniec was _allowed _to be good…" Sakura said jokingly, until she realized that the white plane was starting to fade away. "Hey, what's going on?"

"You're going back to your body." Usi said with a grin. "Now remember, you have to save Vena."

"But how?" Sakura questioned quickly. "I don't even know _why _he's dying!"

"I trust you. You'll find a way." Usi said as she faded away.

Sakura suddenly got the overwhelming feeling of being a ping-pong ball as dozens of colors flashed before her eyes. Then, as quickly as the feeling had come over her, it disappeared, and she found herself kissing someone. Her cheeks flushed and she pushed straight out as hard and fast as she could. She heard someone cry out in surprise, someone definitely female, and sat up while wiping off her lips.

"That's a great way to treat someone who's been keeping you alive you meanie!" Rikku shouted at her as she sat up.

"Geez! I'm so sorry, Rikku-chan!" Sakura shouted in relief. 'At least it wasn't Matt. That would've been embarrassing.' Sakura could just picture herself kissing him, much to the amusement of everyone there. Shaking her head to get rid of the image she looked around the room. Yuna, Melody, and Ryan were sitting against random parts of the wall, breathing heavily, while the rest of the gang, other then Rikku and Paine, seemed like they were just getting up.

"Are you even sorry for that?" Rikku shouted, drawing Sakura's attention back to the offended Al Bhed.

"Sorry, Rikku-chan." Sakura said before wrapping her friend in a hug.

"Hey, we do all the real work and get left out?" Ryan complained jokingly from where he was leaning against the wall.

"All the real work?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Who… do you think healed all… of you reckless idiots?" Melody demanded. "I don't think I'll be able… to cast a spell for… another month."

"Oh, poor babies." Rikku said as she walked over and sat down next to her boyfriend. "Wow… you guys really _are _exhausted, aren't you?"

"Nah, healing a bunch of nearly dead friends isn't tiring at all." Ryan muttered sarcastically. Rikku kissed him on the check and rested her head against his shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah. Quite your bellyaching." She told him jokingly. "Think you can walk?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Ryan said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, Rae said we'd get Kitty outta here, right? All we really need to do is wake Seph up…"

"Screw you." Seph muttered from the other side of the room.

"And then get everyone motivated." He finished with a dry chuckle. Everyone groaned as they got up slowly, stretched limbs, and shuffled towards the door. As soon as they went to exit a pair of Lydc guards were there to escort them to the cavern exit silently. At first they didn't want to let Kitty go, but Seph just walked overtop of the man with a path of water, and the arguments died instantly. When they reached the cave exit one of the guards pushed a random spot of wall in and a set of stairs rose up out of the ground.

"That's what I call convenient." Matt said as they stepped out of the cave and into the rain-drenched forest.

Rae took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's so nice to be back on the surface again!" She declared as she wrapped an arm around Kitty's shoulders. "So, what do you think? Is it what you were hoping for?"

"It's breathtaking…" Kitty whispered in awe as she looked around the forest, her ears twitching rapidly. "There are so many noises, and smells!"

Gippal sighed and started away from the group, "Well all, I've got a major political body to get back in order, so this is where we part ways for the time being."

"Oh, come on. You're not gonna celebrate with us?" Rae questioned jokingly.

Gippal stopped and turned around slowly, fixing the group with a serious glare. "After how badly that guy beat us," He said slowly, "we don't have _time _to be celebrating."

"Kill joy." Rae replied as he started away again. "Shesh, talk about killing the mood."

"He's right though." Seph said quietly as the rain picked up slightly. "That wasn't a fight, it was a massacre. If we don't do something, next time we won't get lucky. He'll kill us all."

"Not you too…" Rae complained. "Geez! What's _with _you people? You just rescued your friend and you're all so sad!"

"She's right you know…" Ryan said after an awkward silence. Everyone turned to stare at him in surprise. "There's no use complaining about what's done, is there? We've been working so hard to rescue Rae, maybe it'd be good to have a night to just kick back and relax."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing… you mean you're not angry with Lusniec?" Matt asked in disbelief.

"We should be thankful, not angry. He could've killed us all without any problems, but instead he just beat the hell out of us." Ryan said with a shrug. "I hate to admit it, but we kind of owe him one for that."

"He's got a good point." Paine admitted grudgingly. "Lusniec could have easily finished us of. Perhaps we should spend a day recovering, and then worry about what we're going to do about it."

"You're _all _kill joys!" Rae shouted, sending birds throughout the forest.

888

Seph stalked onto the airship, wondering how he'd been talked into staying the night. It had stopped raining, but he was so busy thinking about how badly Lusniec had beaten the group that he didn't even notice.

Until Rae broke the oppressive silence that had beset the group by saying, "Rikku, you have an _airship_?"

The Al Bhed grinned and nodded. "Yep. Me and Brother won it from dad!"

"Wow. Cid must've been furious." Rae muttered as they walked on. "And this one has nicer accommodations, too."

"Well _yeah_!" Rikku practically shouted. "Yunie and me are here! Did you think we were gonna deal with no comforts or something?"

Rae smiled and shook her head. "You'll never change, will you Rikku?"

"Should I?" Rikku asked innocently. "Everyone I like seems to like me the way I am."

"Guess not then." Rae said with a shrug.

"Yuna!" Brother cried happily when the group walked onto the bridge. "My heart has _longed _for you!"

"That's really creepy, Brother…" Rae stated, drawing Brother's gaze from Yuna to her.

"What are _you _doing here?" He demanded.

"Spending the night in a bed?" Rae asked hopefully.

"_No!_" Brother said strongly.

"Please? Can Rae and Kitty stay the night?" Yuna asked pleadingly.

"Fine! But only one night!" Brother added quickly.

"Thank you, Brother!" Yuna shouted happily before everyone went off their own way.

"You're a push over, you know that?" Shinira questioned when everyone was gone.

"Crid ib (Shut up)!" Brother replied hotly.

888

Rae shook her head as the door to the deck of the airship opened up and she found Kitty sitting there. "I knew you'd be up here."

Kitty turned and gave her a beaming smile. "I love it on the surface! It's beautiful!"

"It is." Rae agreed as she walked over and sat down next to her friend. "But you know what? I'm not gonna let you stay out here much longer," Kitty frowned, but before she could say anything Rae held up a hand. "We're having a girls-only night. We just need to get a big enough room. Ok?"

"I guess," Kitty said as she turned back to looking at the sunset on the ocean. A few minutes later Sakura came sprinting across the deck after Snow who plopped herself down in Kitty's lap. "Well hello there!"

"Sorry about that." Sakura said as she sat down. "She's been whining to come up here for… going on an hour, I guess it'd be. I think she likes you," Kitty grinned and ,picked the leopard cub up.

"Is that true? Do you like me?" she asked it gently, and Snow replied by wagging her tail slightly and purring. "Well, I guess you _do_," Kitty said as the three shared at laugh. "You're going to be giant soon. What're we going to feed her?"

"Uh…. I don't know?" Sakura admitted slowly. "To be honest, I didn't even think about that."

"Sakura!" Kitty said with a sigh, and Snow "meowed" in agreement.

"Okay, okay! I get the picture," Sakura said defensively.

"You're hungry now, aren't you?" Kitty asked the cub. Snow's "meow" was so enthusiastic that the three couldn't help but laugh again. "Ok, lets go get you something to eat."

888

"Lusniec, _why_ didn't you kill them?" Shuyin demanded when Lusniec appeared in the Heart of the Farplane.

"Where's Vegnagun?" Lusniec questioned as he looked around in vain for the giant machine.

"That's none of your business!" Shuyin shouted.

"Well, I see you're as angry at the world as ever," Lusniec muttered as she shoulder his way past the unsent and continued deeper into the Heart of the Farplane. "Where's _Yevon_ then?"

"Same place as always," Shuyin spat. "Sitting around the spot that Vegnagun _was _at."

"So he doesn't know where it went either?" Lusniec summarized.

"He knows," Shuyin hissed. "Thankfully we're moving ahead with the plan. I won't have to deal with you dumb asses anymore."

"Oh? You've found a suitable host then?" Lusniec guessed.

"I told you I could find one faster then you," Shuyin shot back.

"You're angrier then normal…" Lusniec noted with a grin. "What's wrong? Being dead got you down?"

"This coming from the man who got cut in half by a beginner?" Shuyin sneered. "Tell Yevon that I've left, or I'll strangle you with your own tongue."

"A pleasure talking to you, as always," Lusniec said as Shuyin stepped into a portal and disappeared, leaving Lusniec to wander alone until he found Yevon.

"Ah, if it isn't my number one swordsman!" the psychotic god said cheerfully. Lusniec froze and raised an eyebrow.

"What do you want now, Yevon?" He demanded.

Yevon put on a hurt look before asking, "I can't compliment you?"

Lusniec glared at his boss. "I'm here so I can kill Ryan, _not _to get compliments from you on how much I'm helping your screwed up plan!" he growled dangerously.

"Then tell me, dear Lusniec, why you didn't kill him earlier today," Yevon said with a smug smile.

"I want him to suffer, Lusniec said with an evil grin that felt oddly alien. "Killing his friends off one, by one is the worst thing I can do to him."

"I see," Yevon said with a grin. "Then perhaps it'll surprise you to know that Usi's heiress survived your… ultimate attack?" Lusniec blinked

"She _survived_?"

"Yes. She appears to be rather… resilient," Yevon said with a shrug. "But don't worry about that! Shuyin must have told you that we're moving into the next phase!"

"Of course he did. He can't pass up an opportunity to show that he 'knows more' then me," Lusniec said with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. "Who is he going to posses?"

"Someone named… Baralai… he's the leader of the New Yevon political body, one of the three major ones in Spira," Yevon said slowly. "The base of operations will be in Bevelle."

"Your religion and its secrets," Lusniec muttered. "It's getting old, _real_ fast."

"Yes, well. We shouldn't have any problems with secrets soon. Because there won't be anyone to keep them," Yevon said with a smug grin. "Even Lady Yuna won't be able to stop us this time!"

Lusniec waited until Yevon was done his laughing to ask, "Why do we need Vegnagun, anyway?"

"Why do we need _Vegnagun_?" Yevon repeated with a chuckle. "Oh, Lusniec, I'm surprised! You haven't figured it out yet!"

"Figured what out?" Lusniec asked slowly, not entirely sure he wanted to know what Yevon was getting at.

"When you're hunting something, you need proper bait. That way, no matter what, your prey won't be able to resist coming to you," Yevon explained. "What has that wench Yuna, or _any _of the heirs done to make you think they'd let something like Vegnagun exist?"

Lusniec grinned and admitted, "Nothing, I was just wondering how much longer we need Shuyin on our side."

"Why would you wonder that?" Yevon questioned sarcastically.

"I can still kill him when this is over, right? He's really pissing me off," Lusniec explained.

"Ah, of course, of course. Well I suppose you'll just have to wait until we don't need him anymore," Yevon said with a shrug. "After all, he's the only one of us that can pull of possessing this… Baralai person. Without him, they'll never find out about Vegnagun."

"And if they don't find out about Vegnagun, then they never come to us. Meaning we have to reveal ourselves earlier then we expected," Lusniec finished with a quiet nod. "I wise plan, then."

"I know. I made it up, after all," Yevon boasted.

"True. Very true," Lusniec agreed.

888

"Ok, so where are we doing this?" Sakura asked again as the girls walked through the halls.

"We haven't figured that out yet," Yuna said with a sigh. "Girl's night out isn't supposed to be so complicated!"

"I agree!" Rikku whined. "Let's just kick one of the guys out of their room! It closer then going to our rooms!"

"I agree with Rikku-chan!" Sakura seconded.

"Matt's room is the closest," Paine noted. "Sakura, go."

"What? Why me?" Sakura questioned as she weaved through the group towards Matt's door.

"Because you're already there." Paine said when Sakura got to the door.

"Paine-chan… that was evil," Sakura muttered before knocking on the door. "Matt! Hello?"

"Yeah?" Matt asked when he opened his door. "What can I do for you?"

"We want to borrow your room!" Sakura stated firmly. Matt raised an eyebrow and she sighed.

"Why, exactly?" Matt asked slowly.

"Because we're having a slumber party, and we don't want to go all the way down the hallway!" Rikku put in.

"Sorry," Matt said simply before closing the door.

"Ohhh, now _that _was mean!" Rikku shouted at the closed door.

"I think he wanted his privacy," Sakura said with a sigh as the group moved on to the next door. "Oh… Ryan-kun's room. Rikku-chan, you're up!"

Rikku stepped up, made a show of cracking her neck that drew laughs from everyone but Paine, and then knocked on the door. When Ryan opened it up he looked like he's just woken up. "Hey, what's up?"

"I was sleeping…" Ryan slurred sleepily. "What'd'ya need?"

"Ummm…" Rikku glanced back at the rest of the girls and Ryan followed the look. He stared at them for a second before making the connection between the fact that they were at his room, and the fact that they were all carrying pillows, blankets, and other stuff. He sighed and closed the door. "Hey, that wasn't ni-" Rikku stopped when Ryan opened the door back up, shambled over to Matt's room, and stepped inside. "Ohh… Thank you!"

"I don't think he heard us," Kitty noted somewhat sadly as they walked in.

"What's wrong, Kitty?" Rae asked as she closed the door.

"Well think about it. Yuna and Melody aren't the only ones who used up all their magic today," Kitty pointed out. "And we _did _just kick him out of his room, when he was sleeping."

"Ah, don't worry about it. He's so tired, that he probably won't even remember about it in the morning," Rikku said with a shrug.

"He gets up before us when we _aren't _staying up all night, Rikku," Yuna pointed out with a giggle. "Boy, is _he _going to be in for a treat when he goes into his room tomorrow morning."

"Oh… now _that _should be interesting. I can't wait to see Ryan-kun's face!" Sakura said excitedly.

888

Seph stared into the ball of water he'd been manipulating for the past half hour. He may not have mastered his powers as the god of water, he'd admit that gladly, but he _could _see things in water. The past, the present, sometimes even the future. For years it'd been his greatest secret, something he'd never shown to anyone.

And now he was showing it to Matt. The water expanded until it consumed nearly the entire wall, and then began to show the battle they'd had with Lusniec earlier. The constant laughter that had been coming from Ryan's room the past three hours had made it easy to conceal the sound without actually having to keep it quite.

"He's gotta have a weakness," Seph growled as the battle ended and started over. He glanced over the edge of the bed at Ryan and sighed. "You think he'd have stayed awake after seeing what we were doing. I thought he knew that knowing your opponent was a key factor in beating them!"

"He does," Matt replied calmly.

"Then why's he sleeping?" Seph demanded.

"He's not," Matt said simply. "Right, Ryan?"

"Who could sleep with all that laughter?" Ryan mumbled without moving. Seph blinked in surprise.

"How long have you been awake?" the assassin asked.

"I never went back to bed. Just like you said, knowing your opponent is the first step to beating them," Ryan said without moving. "Not to mention all that laughter."

Seph shook his head and passed the fact that he'd missed the fact off as having been concentrating on the water. "Wait… Matt, how did _you _know that Ryan was awake?"

"Easy, he doesn't sleep that still," Matt said without taking his gaze from the water. "Now play it again."

"Its no use," Ryan said quietly.

"What's that mean? That we should just give up?" Seph shout back.

"No, just that we can't learn how to stop Lusniec by trying to see something we can't," Ryan said as he stood up and stretched.

"What does _that _mean?" Seph questioned.

"Lusniec uses his speed to attack-"

"From the blind spots!" Matt finished for Ryan, who simply nodded. "That combined with the power of his Wind Cutter, and the fact that now he _has _Wind Cutter, gives him an advantage that's pretty much guaranteed that we'll loose."

"Maybe," Ryan said quietly.

"No technique is without its flaws, right?" Seph asked.

"None," Matt agreed. "Now, the question is what's the weakness of Lusniec's style?"

"The speed…" Seph said suddenly.

"How is _that _the weakness? That's his _strength_," Ryan said slowly.

"No, it's the same flaw the Kuzu Ryu Sen has! You're moving so fast that you can't change direction," Seph corrected. "If your opponent comes up with even a rudimentary counter, it could be really bad."

"Huh… didn't know the Kuzu Ryu Sen had a flaw," Ryan admitted with a shrug.

"Sight," Matt said after several minutes of pondering the fight. "Lusniec's technique relies on blind spots, places you can't defend well because you can't see them well. That's the _real_ trick to his style if you ask me."

"How do you counter against that, though?" Ryan wondered aloud as he pulled up the last armchair to the end of the bed. "I mean, we can't exactly fight without being able to see… well, not _well _anyway."

"Sound," Seph said with a grin. "An assassin's greatest skill in Spira is the ability to fight in situations where he can't see. That's because he can _hear _his opponents."

"That's great for you, Seph, but we only know the basics of fighting without sight," Matt stated. "Fighting a _fiend _might prove difficult, and you want us to fight _Lusniec_ like that?"

"You want to stop him?" Seph asked as his grin began to grow.

"You think we _don't_?" Ryan replied.

"Well, then we'll have to start your training as soon as we can," Seph said as he stared at Ryan.

"What, just _me_?" Ryan questioned in disbelief.

"No, but we're defiantly going to focus on you the most," Seph explained. "You're the only one who's beaten Lusniec cleanly before."

"I wouldn't exactly call them _cleanly_, and Sakura's done better since she got here then I have!" Ryan pointed out.

"I don't trust Sakura enough to train her," Seph stated bluntly.

"That was cold," Matt noted absently.

"The truth almost always is," Seph said with a shrug.

"Damn, why me?" Ryan muttered to himself.

"He stole your sword, didn't he? I figured you'd want it back," Seph added in, smiling even more as Ryan's eyes iced over. "Guess you do."

"So it's settled then," Matt said as he got off the bed and headed for the door. "Well, what are you guys waiting for?"

Seph shook his head. "We've done too much already today. Lets save it for tomorrow." He said as he stood up and walked over. "I'll be waking you guys up in a few hours, so rest up while you can."

"A few hours?" Ryan repeated dully. "Geez, talk about short notice!"

"Like I said, get some rest while you can." Seph said before leaving the room, dragging the ball of water along with him.

"Your alarm on?" Matt asked, glancing at the clock.

"No, why." Ryan questioned. Matt held a finger up to his hands and pointed towards the other room which had fallen oddly silent, and grinned.

"They kicked you outta there room, why don't you kick them outta yours?" He asked with an impish grin. "I mean, if you hide your cell phone in a place that they won't be able to find, we can probably arrange it so that they get a rather… _loud_… wake up call."

"Oh, I agree," Ryan said as he shared Matt's impish grin. "But how do you plan to make it loud enough to be annoying?" Matt walked out the door, crossed the hall, and knocked on Nick's door gently.

"What do you want? It's 2 am!" Nick complained as he shambled out of his room.

"Wanna prank the girls?" Matt asked.

Nick's smile was as big as humanly possible as he ducked back into his room.

888

Shuyin sighed as another pair of guards started to charge towards him. "You guys just never learn!" He said as he drew his sword and met them in the middle.

He ducked under one sword attack, and then rolled in-between the two guards, tripping one in the process. He came up and slashed out at the one still standing, painting the walls in the unfortunate guard's blood. As the second guard stared at his falling partner Shuyin brought his sword around in a tight arc, dropping the man's head forward and his body to the side.

"Pathetic," He spat in disgust as he looked at the two corpses. "I really thought that they might be competent this time, too," Shuyin didn't wait around. He'd already left over a dozen bodies, no point in hiding these ones either. He glanced down the two passages that the guards had been guarding. 'Either Baralai is an amazing fighter, or he's incredibly cocky,' Shuyin thought as he shrugged and chose the middle path. After all, he could kill everyone in the temple. Not like he could die.

888

"Praetor, you must leave!" A guard shouted as he burst into Baralai's office. The Praetor of New Yevon looked up sternly, but the look on the man's face kept him from lecturing him.

"What's wrong?" Baralai asked instead.

"Someone has killed fifteen of our guards, and he's heading this way! You _must _escape!" Baralai raised an eyebrow and stood up slowly.

"Order the remaining guards to leave the building," Baralai order in a voice that left no room for argument.

"And you, sir? Will you be evacuating with us?" The guard asked hopefully.

"No," Baralai said simply. "I'm the Praetor of New Yevon. If I simply let our entire guard die trying to fight someone they couldn't stop, then the people would lose what little trust they had in us. I'll handle our guest personally."

"Sir, no offense meant, but that is insane!" The guard shouted as Baralai walked over to his closet and pulled out his bladed staff. "Sir, you can't be serious!"

Baralai looked over at him with a whisper of a smile that quickly disappeared. "Leave him out of this," He ordered strongly.

"Sir?" The guard asked in confusion.

"_Move_!" Baralai shouted forcefully. The guard hesitated and glanced behind himself in confusion. The last thing he saw before being cut in half was Shuyin's sword.

888

Shuyin enjoyed the look that Baralai gave him. It was a mix of grudging respect, hatred, and silent evaluation. "Praetor Baralai, I presume?" Shuyin asked mockingly as he stepped into the room and closed the door behind himself. "I've been looking for you for a while. This is a nice room, by the way," Shuyin added as he looked around the giant office, with paintings of all of the Maesters of Yevon except for Seymour, plush armchairs, and a crackling fireplace.

"You must have wanted to meet me rather badly," Baralai noted as he dropped into a ready stance and began to circle Shuyin slowly. "What do you want with me?"

"I'm going to borrow your title," Shuyin said simply.

"Sorry, but I'm not retiring," Baralai said simply. Shuyin grinned, grabbed a painting off the wall and inspected it closer.

"Maester Mika. An unsent if I remember correctly," Shuyin said slowly.

"Stop evaluating your knowledge of Yevon's Maesters, and tell me what you want," Baralai ordered evenly.

"What do I want?" Shuyin asked innocently before he sneered at the Praetor. "To become _you_!"

Baralai was going to ask what he meant when Mika's picture came flying at his head. He crouched lower and slashed out at Shuyin's feet, forcing him to jump. Then he reversed his grip on his staff and drove it up. Shuyin rolled to the side in mid-air and slashed against the pole of the staff and grinned in triumph as it split cleanly in two.

"Now what, Praetor? Your precious _staff_ is useless," He said cockily as he landed. "I'd offer you the chance to just give up, but I'm not that nice." Baralai backed up as Shuyin started laughing, turning translucent, and walking towards him.

It was the last sight he'd see for a long time.


	11. Down Time

hey, i'm back -points to a sign that reads "NO ROTTEN FOOD THROWING PLEASE!" as people prepare to throw rotten food- ok, now that that's taken care of, sorry for the long update time people, but yeah. the chapters just aren't coming out like they were before. sorry. anyway, i'm now working on another school during my free time in school and when my sister's on the comp, so maybe i'll post a chapter of that soon. anywau. onto the reviews!

Auron's Fan- NEE-CHAN! yes, it was ironic that we updated on the same day. two blessing two the world. go us! and you'll get to see what the girls do to the guys this chapter so yeah. look forward to that

Da KeR MysTeRr- lol, 5:30? wow, you got up a half hour after i do on a normal day... -- the things i do for you people. and i'm glad you thought i did a good job with the point of view changing, it's one of the hardest things to do in my opinion.

labrat-seph- tsk, tsk, tsk, always getting ahead of me aren't you? as for Paine laughing at the party... i'll leave that to your imagination XD. Dnortih will be back... eventually... and the whole thing with Ryan's power's will come back too, probably about the same time. as for Sin having his own dimension... that comes into play in book 3, so relax. lates!

Bstgoalie31 - yeah, the guys pranked the girls. and you'll get to see quickly -scroll down. its the first thing in the chapter ;-p -

Sejast Fanel- yeah... like i said in the previous reply, its the first thing so go read quickly! and do you still think you should review? actually i've just had writer's block so yeah, keep reviewing!

SLy- boy, the prank seems to be a popular subject. well, its the first thing in the chapter so yeah. and baby and snow are in this chapter too, but no big roles... yet. maybe i'll have to give them major roles sooner or later... Vena 'dying' will be explained in time, i can't say anything now 'cause it'll ruin... stuff... in the future. but it will be explained! and yeah, usi kicked lusniec's ass, go her!

KamiKaze no Kage- yeah, seph got his ass handed to him. that kinda thing is going to happen more often in the upcoming updates, which will probably take awhile between school and writer's block. i swear, that should be forbidden... horrible combo. anyway. yeah, lusniec's pretending to be on yevon's side, but if you wanna see what he's up to, you'll have to wait and find out. and yeah, the guy's are prankin' the girls. and no worries 'bout being nuts. i don't mind at all

Anasazi Darkmoon- Yeah, you're still alive, thank god for that. and yes, Usi's finally off her high horse... and yes, its sad that it took Vena's impending death to do it. as for pranking the girls, i hope you enjoy!

Skillfulist- hey, i'm glad you like my story. as for playing FFX-2... its not that great. the entire game is, more or less, side quests. and sorry for updating so slowly. school + writer's block isBAD!

Reyavie- i don't look at my hit counter anymore. it just makes me mad that so many people check my story out and don't bother to review. you guys know who you are. REVIEW! -shakes fist meanacingly- as for your brain cells... sorry, but lusniec doesn't know what side he's on, so he's gonna be a rouge person for a while longer. don't worry, towards the end he figures out what side he's on. as for planning on killing all the gods, you'll have to read and find out.and i think its only been... 11 days since you reviewed, so yeah. like i said, school + writer's block is BAD!

and that's everything people. so now, without further ado, to the chapter!

* * *

Down Time

"Hey, wake up," Seph ordered as he began to beat on Matt's door. "We don't have all d-" he was cut off abruptly when the door opened; Matt and Ryan dragged him in, and then closed the door quietly.

"Shut up!" They hissed in unison.

"What?" Seph asked immediately. Ryan and Matt just went over to the wall with Nick and sat there quietly. "Anybody going to answer me?"

"Just shut the hell up and listen!" Nick hissed without moving away from the wall. Seph shook his and sat on the bed to wait for whatever was happening.

Five minutes later an impossibly loud alarm went off, shaking the wall and knocking the pillows off of Matt's bed. Lights flashed under the door so brightly that everyone in the room had to shield their eyes and turn to keep from being temporarily blinded. Seph's eyes widened in confusion as he shielded them from the light that was leaking through and, when the lights died down enough for him to see, he darted out of the room and found the hallway filling with smoke that was seeping out of the girls' room.

And when the girls came running out screaming, minus Paine who walked out calmly, the first thing they saw was Seph standing there. "Seph, you _bastard_!" Rae shouted as she dove at him. He spun to the side and then jumped over her, slamming the door shut behind him.

"What the _fuck_ did you _do_?" Seph demanded as he backed away from the door.

"We set flash grenades, a couple of smoke bombs, and hooked Ryan's cell phone alarm up to a speaker," Matt said with a laugh.

"Did you have a plan for making it out of the room alive?" Seph questioned frantically.

"Not really, no. We kind of didn't have time to come up with one," Nick said with a hint of worry creeping into his voice.

"Ummm… let see… what have we got to work with? The door and the window?" Ryan asked as he glanced around the room.

"Why _do _we have windows in here, anyway?" Nick pondered until Seph slapped him in the back of the head.

"Focus on _this _problem, eh?" He suggested harshly as he started towards the window. "Brother's not up yet. We haven't started moving."

"What are you suggesting?" Matt questioned as he Seph climbed up onto the windowsill. "Seph, talk to us."

"We're going to the deck," Seph said as a pendulum slid out of his pocket and he launched it up to the top of the deck. "Well, see you up there."

"Oh, _this _is going to be a pain in the ass," Nick stated as Seph disappeared with a grin.

"Well, it's this or the door," Ryan said with a shrug. "The choice is up to you."

"Oh, I know which way _I'm _going," Matt muttered as he walked over to the windowsill and pressed his hand against the side of the airship. "Well, here goes something knew…"

"That's a hard landing down there, Matt. Be careful," Ryan advised.

"Gee, thanks for the tip," Matt said dryly as he started to pull himself up the wall, small bursts of electricity emitting from his hands. "Wow, it actually wor-" Matt stopped when he suddenly began to slip back down the side. "Oh shit."

"This can't be good for his health," Nick noted as he grabbed his friend by the wrist as he slid by and being yanked along until two ropes made exclusively of water wrapped around them and began to hall them up.

"Thanks for the lift, Seph," Nick gasped as the former assassin lowered a third for Ryan.

"Well what was I supposed to do? You guys are too incompetent to get up here on you own," Seph pointed out with a smug grin as Ryan grabbed the third one and jumped out the window and rolled to the side just as Paine kicked Matt's door in.

"Well, now we _really_ owe you one," Nick complained when Seph had them up on the deck.

"Yeah, well, don't get too lovey-dovey on me. You're _not _going to enjoy this, got it?" Seph said bluntly.

"Oh boy. It's like sensei all over again," Matt muttered grimly as he thought of Auron's "Hell week" which was, in his opinion, a rather fitting title.

"Ok, the key to fighting without being able to see is simple: hearing," Seph stated firmly. "The second most important skill is being able to judge the distance between you and the enemy's weapon. And finally, being able to react fast enough to keep your enemy from landing a fatal blow."

"Makes sense," Nick agreed. "So, how do we do this?"

"We train in the fog. The _real_ fog, not this low-visibility crap," Seph added when Nick began to snicker. "And we wear these as well," Seph pulled a bag off his back and dumped the contents on the deck and started handing different ones to different people.

"What're these for?" Nick questioned as he caught the arm and leg weights he was having thrown at him.

"Weights, what do you think they're for? Actually, don't answer that," Seph muttered as he strapped on his own set. "Now we get to sparring."

"What? Why? How?" Nick demanded as he strapped the leg weights on, stood up and tried to take a step only to nearly fall as the weight slammed his foot into the deck painfully. "How much do these things weigh!"

"For you? I think it was eighty pounds," Seph said with a shrug. "Matt's weights are… a hundred and ten I believe it was. And Ryan's are a hundred and twenty."

"What? Why does Ryan have heavier weights then me?" Matt asked as he stood up and lifted an eyebrow.

"Because _you two_ have been dealing with Ryan's speed for what, two years? Ryan's not used to fighting someone as fast or faster then him. Right now, out of the four of us, he stands the least chance of beating Lusniec without help," Seph explained as he adjusted his weights. "So to compensate with that he has to get used to dealing with being slower then others, he needs heavier weights. Besides, this'll give you guys a chance to get a few good revenge hits in if you want. And maybe it'll give Ryan some upper body strength, too."

"That… was cold," Ryan muttered.

"What did I say yesterday?" Seph asked with a grin as a thick fog started to roll in. "Ok now people, focus. You find me in the next hour and breakfast is on me."

"An hour?" Matt repeated skeptically. "Dude, odds are we'll find you through sheer dumb luck by then."

"Hey, I'm not planning on playing fair," Seph said with a grin evident in his voice as the vision negating fog consumed them all.

888

Nick quickly discovered how serious Seph was about this lesson. Less then a minute after the fog had rolled in several pendulums had hit him, and each one had hurt. Now he was holding his side as blood trickled down his side and onto the deck.

'What the hell is he thinking? Actually attacking us, that's insane!' Nick thought as he closed his eyes as ignored the pain. As he closed his eyes and was engulfed by absolute darkness he felt an odd sense of peace come with it. It was akin to entering a whole new world, one where every sound was amplified four times over, every smell was impossibly clear and distinct, and every vibration in the ground was noticeable if he paid close enough attention. Finding the origin was as simple as focusing slightly harder on each vibration.

His breath slowed down as he let the sounds around him tell him what his eyes couldn't. He could hear Matt and Ryan breathing as the stumbled around through the fog, the scraping of their shoes as the moved around on the deck, the sound of Seph's pendulums gliding through the air, and the sound of his own heartbeat in the distant background.

But what he didn't hear worried him. The fog gave Seph a distinct advantage. He could hear everything they did because they had to move to attack. He, on the other hand, could sit on a thing of water and let his pendulums do all the work for him.

'He's gotta have a flaw somewhere in his strategy. What is it?' Nick wondered as he stepped backwards just in time to avoid a pendulum that grazed his face anyway. 'Bastard…' he twisted out of the way of another one and then collapsed from the loss of balance combined with the weights on his arms and the pain that shot through his side. He shoved off the deck with a grunt and caught another pendulum with the blade of his weapon as he flicked it in an arch in front of him, scrapping the spearhead at the bottom along the metal and letting out an ear splitting screech.

Without thinking he reached out and grabbed the water that connected the pendulum to Seph and pulled, causing it to disappear and drop the pendulum to the ground. Nick grinned when he heard it clattered. At least now he had a way to defend himself.

888

Matt was fairing far worse. Seph's pendulums were constantly flashing through the air and slashing him. So far he'd managed to avoid anything serious, keeping the damage superficial, but he was getting tired. Even when Auron had sparred against him for hours on end, he hadn't been able to keep up a constant barrage.

In fact, all of his battles had been short intense battles, and in two years he'd never had a long, drawn out, battle like this one. He always had time to catch his breath, evaluate his opponent's strategy, and redo his own accordingly. Seph, apparently, didn't plan on giving him that opportunity.

'I'll just have to improvise then,' he reflected wryly as he let out an exhausted sigh. 'Okay, Seph, you wanna use your powers to play, I'll play by your rules.' Lighting sparked off of his body, collided with pendulums, and then slammed down back into the deck. After that it spider-webbed along the surface of the deck with an intense glow that light up the fog, and every now and then a spark would shoot up and collide with a pendulum as it flashed or tumbled into the lightning web. 'It worked. Go figure.'

888

Ryan had it worst then either Matt or Nick. With his weights he could barely move, and Seph wasted no time in using that to his advantage as he drove his pendulums in rapidly, and from a staggering array of directions that would have given him if he _hadn't _been weighed down. And without his powers he couldn't defend himself in the way Matt could, leaving him to rely on his lumbering, cumbersome, awkward movements.

Movements that weren't nearly enough to avoid even the _slowest_ of Seph's attacks. As it was, he had four pendulums sticking out of him, one in the right leg, two in the left arm, and a third in the side. Each breath and shift in his stance brought on fresh waves of agony.

'What the hell did I do to deserve this?' he wondered as he instinctively brought his arm up in front of his face when another pendulum was diving at his face. A dull pain pulsed in his arm and when he looked at it the pendulum was stuck in the weight, which was slowly pouring out sand. He nearly slapped himself in the face with relief at his dumb luck, but a pendulum flashed in-between his face and hand.

888

Seph shook his head as he sat in his little bubble of water that let him hover above the fog, safe from any attacks that Matt, Nick, or Ryan could come up with. 'Still, I'd have thought they'd have tired _something _by now.' He let out a sigh as Ryan's breathing became more ragged. 'Maybe I should ease off him. Then again, if I do, what's the point of the training?' he raised an eyebrow when Nick began to cut the strands of water that connected him to his pendulums, causing them to clatter to the ground uselessly until he decided to get them back.

Which Matt's stupid lighting web defense was forcing him to do, by knocking everything he sent at it away with quick bursts of electricity. He hated to admit it, but if he could get it to be silent rather then sounding like his Chidori, it'd be the perfect defense. Undetectable in visionless combat, and perfect against groups, the only possible weakness it could have was how long Matt could keep it in existence.

Seph sighed to himself instinctively, and then silently berated himself for it when something he couldn't quite identify in the fog came flying towards him. The water around him lost it shape and he dropped the twenty feet to the ground amidst the racket that the water landing had caused. Before he had to time to stand up a bolt of lighting shot out at him, forcing him to twist and slip to avoid it, only to have his hair stand on end when it hit the water around him.

When Seph could see straight again he found himself staring at dozens of bolts of lightning racing towards him. 'Oh, _this _could be bad.'

888

"Praetor Baralai, sir, why are we moving a _machina _into the basement of our base?" The captain of the guard questioned when he saw Baralai, who was overseeing the transfer of Vegnagun from the Farplane to the Bevellian Temple.

"New Yevon must _not _allow Vegnagun to fall into the hands of the Machina Faction or the Youth League. It's too dangerous to risk leaving it alone," Shuyin explained. 'There, you've got your damn answer, now leave me the hell alone you dumb ass guard!'

"I see. Thank you, sir. I feared we might have been planning to use it against our enemies should they unite against us," The guard said with a laugh before walking off.

"Never," Shuyin lied. 'I don't plan to use it against our enemies. I plan to use it against this whole, _damned_, planet!'

"Well, Praetor Baralai, I'm glad to see you decided to take my advice," Yevon said cheerfully as he and Lusniec walked up behind Shuyin calmly.

"Indeed I have my old friend. And Sir Micheal… I'm glad you finally found a pair of pants that you enjoy wearing," Shuyin added with a smirk towards Lusniec who only smiled pleasantly and nodded his head. Shuyin wanted to walk over and behead the smug bastard, but for the sake of his mission instead he asked, "Anyway, what can I do for you two? As you can see I'm rather busy."

"Oh, yes, certainly," Yevon said quickly, sensing the tension that was rising between his subordinates. "I was just curious as to how much longer it will take for Vegnagun to be transported completely?"

"Only two, at most," Shuyin stated firmly. "Now if you'd be so kind as to show yourselves to the exits, my men and I have worked to do."

Yevon barely held his temper in check as he smiled politely before turning around slowly and walking away.

"When do you plan to kill him?" Lusniec questioned as he tightened his grip on Wind Cutter.

"When he's no longer useful, he will die," Yevon said with a shrug. "There's nothing else to it. And when did you get Wind Cutter back?"

"Oh, you could say Ryan… fell asleep on the job," Lusniec said with a slight grin as he thought back to the one-sided fight. "So I took it. For safe keeping of sorts."

"Oh, of course," Yevon said with a roll of his eyes. "So you've finally got your sword back. And you're going to kill you heir with it. Again."

"Well I've been doing it for years and it's been working, why stop now, right?" Lusniec asked with a false insane grin.

"That's what I like about you, Lusniec. If something works, you don't mess with it," Yevon said with a chuckle. "Now, the question is how much longer will it be until he becomes useless?"

"Oh, I'd say a few more days," Lusniec said with an eager grin.

"I'm afraid we might need him to work Vegnagun for us, so don't kill him until I say so, understand?" Yevon questioned quickly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll leave him alone until I get the go ahead," Lusniec complained as they walked through a door outlined in gray flames. "But I _will _kill him."

"Yes, you will," Yevon agreed earnestly.

888

"Hey, what smells so good in here?" Rae mumbled as she walked into the kitchen at seven in the morning only to find a sight that she never thought she'd live to see. "What the _hell_? Seph, why on Spira you wearing an _apron_?" She questioned through her laughter, drawing dagger-filled glares from the god.

"Because he didn't want to get his clothes dirty…" Ryan snickered from where he was watching a timer. Seph muttered something, smiled evilly, and then tossed a handful of wet flower at the swordsman, drawing another round of laughter from Rae.

"Dude, that wasn't right!" Ryan complained as Kitty and Rikku poked their heads in and then joined Rae in laughing as Ryan retaliated with a partially melted stick of butter. Seph glared, reached for the eggs, and then spun and caught Rikku in the forehead, abruptly ending the laughter from the three spectators.

"Urrr, Seph, oui zang! (Ohhh, Seph, you jerk!)" Rikku shouted as she wiped the egg off her forehead, grabbed a bowl of sugar and hurled it across the room at him.

"Oh, crap!" Seph muttered as his head shot to the right only to be covered in flour. He blinked a little bit out of his eye and looked up at Rae to find her grinning at him. "Ok, that's it!"

"Rikku, Kitty, Rae, heads up!" Ryan called as he grabbed a measuring cup filled with milk and tossed its contents at them, covering all three of them.

"Ryan, you'll pay for that!" Rikku shouted playfully as she charged him, only to slip and fall onto the ingredient-covered floor.

"Hey, you ok?" Ryan asked as he squatted down next to her.

"Owie…" Rikku complained before grabbing a handful of sugar and tossing it at him.

"Hey!" Ryan complained as Rikku got up and skittered away, nearly slipping on a puddle of milk.

"What in the name of the Seven Lords are you four doing?" Kitty asked timidly as she licked the milk off her hand.

"Haven't you ever heard of a food fight?" Rikku asked in disbelief.

"No…" Kitty admitted quietly.

"Oh, you poor, poor girl! You need to experience life a little more," Rikku confirmed as she gave Kitty a hug. "Ok, lesson one: food fight! All you have to do is pick up some food and throw it at Ryan or Seph. But you gotta watch it 'cause they'll throw back!" Kitty nodded, picked up a cup of freshly cut peaches and started tossing them at everyone else in the room. "Hey, you're not supposed to get us too!"

"Oh well!" Kitty said happily as she ducked behind a table to avoid the barrage of sugar, cinnamon, butter, milk, and sugar and more peaches flew back and forth threw the air as they dodged, slipped, and laughed until the walls of the kitchen were no longer visible through the mess they'd created.

"Oh my god, what did you guys _do_?" Sakura questioned with a barely contained laugh when she and Snow walked by the kitchen.

Before anyone could answer a timer went off and Ryan sprinted clumsily over to the oven, opened it, and pulled out three pies, squinting against the burns it gave him. After several healing spells he turned back to the group and simply asked: "Pie, anyone?"

"You guys were baking a pie?" Rae asked in disbelief. "Oh my gods… I didn't even know Seph knew how to use an oven!"

"Oh, I know how to cook. Mind you I don't normally make pies from scratch, but I do know how to cook," Seph argued.

"Yeah, and Ryan-kun's a good cook. Well… actually I've only ever had a breakfast he cooked, and I accidentally froze most of that… so I've actually never had his cooking before, but Matt and Nick-kun said it was good!" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Uh-huh…" Rae said slowly as she looked at the pies. "And why exactly were you making pies?"

"Well, we figured since we so evilly woke you up so early we'd try and pay you back by making you some pies," Ryan said with a shrug. "Well, that and these pies taste amazing if you make them right."

"I'm just going to take a shot in the dark… and guess that it's some kind of peach pie?" Sakura asked as she eyed the mess.

"Peach Cobbler," Ryan agreed with a grin. "Which, uhhh… ingredient… gave it away?" He questioned as he turned in a circle and examined the multitude of ingredients that were coating the kitchen's walls.

"It _might _have been the peaches…" Sakura said with a chuckle. "Well you guys had better get this messed cleaned up before Brother-san wakes up and sees this."

"Oh shit… that thought never crossed my mind," Ryan muttered nervously.

"Well, see you five later. Have fun," Sakura with a smile.

"Hey, come on Sakura-chan! Give us a hand here?" Ryan asked hopefully.

"You know, I think that I heard something when I was going by Brother-san's room. Hmmm… maybe you should get started," Sakura said with an impish grin.

"Sakura-chan, that's cold," Ryan stated firmly.

"Well, I _am _the ice goddess," Sakura pointed out before starting back down the hall with a laugh, leaving them to their own mess.

888

"Oh boy, what'd you do now?" Matt questioned when Sakura, still laughing from her encounter at the kitchen, walked onto the bridge.

"Oh, Matt, you should've seen it! Ryan-kun, Rikku-chan, Rae-chan, Kitty-chan, and Seph-san had a _giant _food fight in the kitchen. The walls were actually _covered_ with cooking ingredients!" Sakura said with a laugh.

"Wait a second… _cooking _ingredients? What're they cooking?" Matt questioned.

"I think Ryan-kun said it was a peach cobbler pie," Sakura said with a shrug. "What's wrong? You don't look so good…"

"I'm fine. I think," Matt added as he remembered the last time Ryan had tried to make a peach cobbler pie. "Just be careful when or if you eat the pie. Last time he screwed it up. Badly, might I add."

"Wow, never would've guessed given how good a cook he seems to be," Sakura admitted. "I mean you seemed to enjoy it that day I was over for breakfast."

"You mean we enjoyed the parts that weren't frozen solid?" Matt questioned with a joking smile.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault! I did know about any of my powers then," Sakura muttered defensively.

"Yeah, but you still did it," Matt pointed out.

"You aren't going to let that go are you?" Sakura asked calmly.

"No, probably not," Matt admitted with a smile. "But that's not the point."

"Whatever," Sakura muttered before punching in the side which caused him to laugh openly. "Stupid muscle-bound idiot."

"Ouch, nice one," Matt admitted playfully.

"You're so weird," Sakura said before shaking her head in mock despair.

"Well, its no fun being normal. Especially given the fact that we're gods and all that fun stuff," Matt said with a shrug. "Even so, nobody really seems to care. If they did, they'd have said something by now."

"Is that so?" Sakura asked as she watched the sky being to brighten slowly.

"That's what experience has taught me," Matt explained. "People tend to be rude, loud, obnoxious, and intolerant. That's why I like Spira more then earth. It's got all those things, you'll get'em no matter where you go, but in Spira it's not so bad. Anymore."

"Anymore?" Sakura repeated questioningly.

"Yeah, we kind of helped put an end to that two years ago. Everyone thought that the Al Bhed were the reason Sin wouldn't stay dead, because using machines was forbidden and the Al Bhed used them anyway, but we killed Sin and it stayed dead. I think that kind of got the message across," Matt said with a smile.

"Well aren't _you _just a big softie at heart," Sakura said with a laugh as she nudged him jokingly.

"I try not to let people see it too often," Matt replied with a shrug.

"Men," Sakura said as she rolled her eyes. "Always gotta look tough, don't you?"

"Usually, yeah," Matt agreed. "What about you?"

"Huh? What'd ya mean?" Sakura asked, caught off guard by the question.

"Well, you had your head cracked open and you wouldn't back down from Auron. You didn't back down from me. You beat Lusniec once and didn't back down the second time. You were the number one member of the Kendo team, which still confuses me since you use Tonfas. It just seems like you're trying to prove a point," Matt turned to look her in the eye. "So, who're you trying to prove your worth to?"

"What makes you think I'm trying to prove something to somebody?" Sakura asked slowly.

"The fact that your voice changed," Matt replied with a slight grin.

Sakura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well to be honest, I dunno. I've always just felt like I had something to prove to someone. Never knew who, never understood why, I just felt that way. Like somebody was constantly watching me, you know?"

"Not really," Matt admitted. "Any idea who was watching you?"

"I think it was Usi. Well, I _hope _it was Usi," Sakura corrected herself. "Because if it was Yevon, or Lusniec…" She let her shiver finish her statement for her.

888

Andy was keenly aware that he wasn't alone in the endless abyss Yevon had thrown him into. At first he'd been oblivious to the fact that someone, or something else was in the abyss. But over time, and despite the endless nature of where ever he was that allowed his watcher to elude him, he'd found clues.

A breath here, the scuff of shoes on the dimensions 'ground' there. On occasion there were even random flash of a long sword, a fact that baffled him to no end since Yevon used a morning star and mace. And those flashes of the sword brought with them an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.

So when the image of the sword appeared once again he didn't think anything of it. He closed his eyes and sighed, staying that way for what he thought to be several minutes before opening his eyes again.

And finding the sword still sitting there. 'What? Oh, now I can't even stop myself from hallucinating? Damn you Yevon!' Andy thought bitterly before closing his eyes again. And when he opened them the second time the sword was still there. "What the hell do you want?" he asked to the sword, knowing that it wouldn't answer him.

"You cannot hide from him forever," The voice was so gentle that Andy wasn't sue he'd heard it.

"I'm just hearing things, that's all," he told himself firmly.

"You can hear me?" The voice questioned, this time somewhat stronger.

"Wonderful, now my hallucinations are talking back," Andy muttered to himself. "I really am losing it after all. Vilgehk Yevon. (Fucking Yevon)"

"So you also share a hatred for Yevon?" The voice was still so quiet that Andy had trouble believing that it was real.

"Ok, fine. Whatever. Yes, I hate Yevon with all my being. I mean, how many people can say they _like _someone taking over their body? Not to mention trying to kill their friends with it, or trying to destroy the world with it," Andy demanded.

"Have you battled Yevon?" The voice questioned, urgent this time, but still quiet.

"Yeah, we beat him two years ago. But the ice goddess wasn't there, so we couldn't kill him," Andy said sadly.

"Did he use my sword against you?" The voice demanded, suddenly so loud Andy feared he'd go deaf.

"Geez, quiet down a little!" Andy ordered. "And no, he didn't use _any _sword against us. He uses a mace and a morning star."

"So he still fears me," The voice said slowly.

"Wait… what? Say that again," Andy requested.

"I said 'so he still fears me'," The voice said calmly. "What is so odd about that?"

"Umm, I dunno, let's try the fact that he's the strongest of the gods? And you're just a disembodied voice?" Andy pointed out.

"I suppose it must seem that way to you," The voice said with a hint of amusement in it. "But I assure you, I'm far from a random 'disembodied voice.' I can even see you."

"Well why can't I see you then?" Andy demanded.

"Perhaps your eyes aren't adjusted to this dimension yet," The voice offered. "Or perhaps I'm not what you think I am."

"Well then, do tell. What are you?" Andy asked sarcastically.

"Would not 'Who and where are you" be better questions then 'What are you'?" The voice asked teasingly.

"Fine, whatever! Just answer the fucking questions!" Andy shouted.

"No need to yell," The voice chided. "I'm standing right in front of you after all." Andy raised an eyebrow and squinted into the darkness.

"But there's nobody here…" He said slowly after several minutes of searching.

"Did I not say that perhaps I wasn't what you thought I was?" the voice questioned calmly.

"So what are you?" Andy demanded. "I've been in this stupid dimension for I don't know _how _long, and I'm _not _in the mood for guessing games!"

"Testy. Well then, why don't you take a closer look at your surroundings? I assure you, I'm present, but not in a way you think I am." The voice stated firmly.

"What are you _talking _about? Are you a ghost, 'cause the only other thing I can see is this random sword of doom!" Andy shouted hotly. "Now if you don't get out here now, I'm going to flood this damned dimension with flames until I _do _find you!"

"Well, that would be a rather useless gesture," The voice commented in a bored voice. "Especially since I'm, in a sense, the sword you see in front of you."

Andy raised his eyebrow before saying, "I think _that _deserves an explanation."

"Hmmm… no, I don't think we're there yet, young god of the flames," The voice commented calmly. "But in time perhaps we shall get there."

"Oh man, this is going to take some getting used to," Andy said with a sigh.

888

"You guys got that _entire_ mess cleaned up already?" Sakura asked in surprise when Rikku, Rae, Kitty, Ryan, and Seph walked onto the bridge half an hour later.

"Yep," Rae said before leaning against a wall and sighing. "Every last bit."

"How? You couldn't see most of the room!" Sakura said in disbelief.

"Well we did have the second fastest person alive and the god of water helping us…" Rikku pointed out. "I mean, all we had to do was turn on a sink and Seph could've cleaned the whole thing himself."

"_Could _have? As in didn't?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow towards Seph.

"What, you think I'm gonna do _all _the work around here? You're crazy," Seph said with a shake of his head.

"Ahhh, I see," Matt said with an approving grin.

"Yeah, I thought you'd say that," Seph replied with a shrug as Brother stumbled onto the bridge.

"Good. All Gullwings are here," Brother mumbled to himself, clearly half asleep.

"Wait, Sakura-chan, you said Brother was awake!" Rikku shouted in surprise and confusion.

"No I didn't," Sakura protested. "I said I heard something when I went by his door! I never said that he was awake."

"Ohh, that was a mean trick!" Rikku said with a pout as she turned to Rae, Kitty, Ryan, and Seph for support. "Right?"

"Definitely," Rae agreed.

"Yes, a mean trick most definitely," Kitty agreed.

"I dunno, I think it was a good one," Ryan said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, it certainly got us moving," Seph agreed.

"Hey, you're not supposed to be condoning this!" Rae said with a little frustration.

"But we are," Seph pointed out with an amused smile.

"You too, Ryan?" Rikku asked in surprise.

"I'm afraid so," Ryan said helplessly. Rae and Rikku shared a helpless glance and sighed before turning to see Brother waiting for them, pretending to scan the room while trying to stay awake.

"Hey… Brother? Nick, Paine, and Yuna aren't here. Perhaps we should wait for them before you say whatever you're going to say," Matt suggested.

"What? Yuna is not here?" Brother asked in shock, the comment waking him up instantly. "Where is Yuna?"

"Sleeping… like most people are at eight in the morning," Nick muttered through a yawn as he shuffled onto the bridge and made a b-line for the coffee maker.

"Nick, what're you doing up?" Matt questioned as he watched his friend make himself a cup of coffee.

"Well, first there was the massive amount of laughter in the kitchen, which is barely fifty feet from my door. Then there was the smell of cooking since 6:30. And sounds carry in this place, guys. And you're all _very loud _in the mornings to begin with," Nick said with a false cheerfulness in his voice, emphasizing each word to get his point across.

"Ohhh, sorry!" Kitty said while looking him over and barely keeping her amusement at his appearance in check.

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry 'bout it. I've had to deal with worse." Nick said through another yawn. "So what does Brother want to tell us?"

"Who knows? It's Brother after all," Rikku said as if the simple statement could explain anything her brother did.

"Well then, I suppose we'll just have to wait for Yuna and Paine to get here," Nick said as he added some more sugar to his coffee.

"Hey, what about JT and Melody? Where'd they…" Seph trailed off when he noticed Rae's glare. "Ok, ok, I get the point. I'll go get'em." He said before hurrying off the bridge.

"Man, never thought I'd see Spira's top assassin so whipped…" Matt muttered as he watched Seph go. "Rae, what on earth do you do to control him like that?"

"Well, that's a trade secret!" Rae replied cheerfully.

"Oh, I need to learn how to do that. That'd just be fun," Sakura said with an impish grin.

"Yeah!" Rikku agreed.

"Well, we'll all just have to have another sleep over won't we?" Rae said, enjoying the muttering of the guys.

"Yeah," Nick agreed, "and then we can take our "Morning Calls" to the next level."

"And then you'll find yourself sleeping with an iron giant," Rae replied challengingly.

"Eh, what's one iron giant?" Nick questioned confidently.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say three dozen," Rae replied with an icy smile.

"Ouch…" Nick replied with a laugh. "Ok, I get the point. No more wake up calls."

"Yeah, that was just cruel," Sakura said before jabbing Matt in the side hard enough to cause him to react. "What's this? Matt can actually _feel _things through that layer of muscle that's rather thick?"

"Yeah, its not impenetrable you know," Matt replied calmly.

"I see," Sakura said in a way that made it clear that she found it amusing.

"Oh boy, that doesn't sound good for you Matt," Ryan commented, much to Matt's displeasure.

"You should worry 'bout your own problems," Matt replied, causing Ryan to glance over at Rikku who was looking as innocent as she possibly could, a fact that caused the swordsman to worry more then a little.

"I'm not the first person up. Surprising," Paine said in her normal, mono-tone voice as she walked in and brushed past the group, Seph following her through a few seconds later without JT and Melody. "What're we doing today?"

"Ummm… at the moment?" Rikku questioned. "Well, that would be waiting for Yuna, JT, and Melody to get here."

"Why JT and Melody?" Paine questioned. "Are they Gullwings now too?"

"I suppose. I mean, after what we've been through with them, why shouldn't they be?" Rikku replied with surprising determination.

"Because Seph's planning on leaving today," Paine answered.

"What?" Rae asked, stepping away from her boyfriend and looking him in the eye. "Is that true?"

"Yep," Seph replied calmly. "Why?"

"Why? _Why?_ Maybe I want to stay here, did you ever think of that?" Rae questioned venomously.

"Then it all works out fine. I didn't plan on anyone else leaving," Seph replied with a shrug.

"_What_?" Rae practically shrieked. "What's that mean, that me and JT and Melody don't matter to you?"

"No, it means that you and JT _do _matter to me," Seph shot back quickly. "You don't even know _where _I'm going, damn it! How do you know you can even _go _there?"

"What do you mean?" Rae questioned, taken back by the sudden outburst from her normally calm boyfriend.

"How do you know it's not a place that only the gods and their successors can go into? Ever think about that?" Seph questioned. "Of course not. You just jumped to conclusions."

"That's not fair! What was I supposed to think?" Rae demanded, stepping in front of the door so Seph couldn't leave.

"Move Rae," Seph said slowly.

"Not until you tell me where you're planning to go," Rae replied firmly.

"I'm going to Zedih's dimension to talk to him. Happy? Now move," Seph said before forcing his way past a confused Rae.

"Why was that such a big secret?" Rae questioned as she followed him.

"It _wasn't _a secret," Seph replied, a trace of anger still in his voice.

"That why're you so mad at me?" Rae questioned. Seph sighed, stopped, and turned to face her.

"Well, let's see. I only, I dunno, risked my life to save you only to find out you were living like a queen. You _clearly _don't trust me, and is there anything else I can add? Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. You assumed that simply because JT was with me, everything he did was my fault! Yeah, I taught him marital arts, I admit to that," Seph hissed through clenched teeth. "But that's _it_. I didn't do anything else!" Before Rae could say anything he was already walking away from her.

Rae slid down the wall she'd been backed up against during the conversation in astonished horror. "Seph…?" she whispered as tears began to build up in her eyes.

The assassin stopped, took a long, deep breath, and turned around and asked, "What, Rae?"

"I'm sorry!" Rae whispered into her knees.

"What?" Seph asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry!" Rae said again, this time turning her head so that she wasn't talking into her knees, but not enough to let her know she was crying. When she heard him walking over she buried her face into her knees as deeply as she could, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears on her pants.

"Hey, you ok?" Seph asked quietly when he kneeled down next to her.

"Fine," Rae replied quietly.

"You're a lousy liar," Seph said with a sigh. "What's wrong?"

"You just freaked out on me! What do you _think _is wrong?" Rae demanded suddenly.

"Well _you _should have trusted me. Have I ever let you down before? Or mad you do _anything _you didn't want to do, for that matter?" Seph replied calmly.

"You made me sit on the top of Gagazet for hours," Rae shot back. "You wouldn't even wait one day before making us do it, either!"

"Something I now regret," Seph admitted with a slight smile. "Ok, anything else?"

"Not really…" Rae whispered quietly. "Wait! You taught JT martial arts! And let him lose his virginity to a Yevonite!"

"Hey, I admit I taught JT martial arts, but he was going to follow me either way. Would you rather have had him relying on that stupid Kataar he uses?" Seph questioned.

"No, but you still let him lose his virginity!" Rae restated.

"Yeah, well, I think Melody had more to do with that one then I did. Besides, I wasn't going to walk in on them in the middle of it," Seph said with a shrug.

"Well…" Rae trailed off when she realized he hadn't done anything else since she'd known him.

"See? You need to learn to trust me a little more," Seph said with a sigh as he picked her up.

"What're you doing?" Rae asked slowly as he started walking towards his room.

"Well, I figure Zedih can wait for a _little _while," The assassin said with a grin that caused Rae's heart to skip a beat.

888

"So, uh… Let's give back that sphere, what do you say?" Brother questioned when Seph and Rae left.

"But we worked so hard to get it," Rikku complained.

"That thing is uber bad news," Brother argued.

"What if we donate the sphere to the study of Spira's history?" Buddy suggested. "That's what being a sphere hunter was originally about, right?"

"It's a little late to bring that up," Paine pointed out.

"Yeah!" Rikku agreed loudly. "We already swiped it!"

"Well, I still say I don't want it! We're giving it back! Now!" Brother shouted.

"You don't mind?" Rikku asked Yuna when she saw her nodding in agreement.

"I've seen it," Yuna said with a shrug.

"It's still pretty shameless to just saunter up and give back the sphere we just stole," Buddy pointed out.

"Oui pi xiead! (You be quiet)" Brother ordered.

"Our reputation is all but worthless if we do that," Pain said coldly. "Our leader's too, no less."

"Crid ib! (Shut up!)" Brother shouted to the leather-clad swordswoman.

"Any idea from the newbs?" Paine questioned as she turned to Ryan, Matt, Sakura, and Nick.

"I'm still amazed that you use the word 'uber' the same way we do back on earth…" Ryan admitted.

"Yeah, that's kinda creepy," Matt agreed.

"Yep," Nick and Sakura agreed in unison.

"Well, you four are rather helpful today, aren't you?" Paine questioned sarcastically.

"Right, our opinions. Why not give it to the Machina Faction, and let _Gippal_ deal with the problem of who to give it to?" Matt questioned.

"Ummmm… not Yevon?" Ryan suggested.

"Well this is no fun at all," Yuna complained with a sigh.

"Yeah, I agree with Yuna-chan," Sakura added in. "The way Matt, Ryan-kun, and Nick-kun described Spira, I thought it was going to be a lot more fun then this."

"Sorry to disappoint you," Paine muttered.

"And I'm curious as to the lack of a 'kun' at the end of Matt's name," Nick said, smirking when Sakura started to blush and Matt raised an eyebrow. "Well that explains it all. Looks like we've got _another _pair of love birds around here."

"Shall we get back to the problem at hand? Like who we should give that sphere back to," Paine suggested. "Gippal's too easy going to trust the sphere to; he'd just give it to the first group to ask him."

"Ohhh, I really gotta let off some steam!" Rikku complained loudly as Shinra stalked over from his console.

"Why don't we ask Yuna to dance?" The little Al Bhed offered.

"Dance?" Yuna repeated with mild surprise.

"Yuna? Dancing?" Matt and Ryan repeated skeptically.

"Oh! That's it!" Brother shouted in gleeful agreement. "Yuna, you must dance! Our sanity depends on it!"

"That sounds like an order, Yuna," Paine said with more amusement then normal.

"I suppose the exercise will do us good," Yuna admitted.

"Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Brother shouted in joy as he began to jump around the ship like a little kid.

"Hang tight while I get read, ok?" Yuna said before running off to go get dressed.

"What in the name of Zedih is going on?" Seph demanded as he rushed into the cabin a few seconds later.

"Ummm… Yuna's gonna dance for us all… and… Brother's freaking out because of that…" Nick said slowly as he watched Brother continue to jump around the cabin.

"Geez, I thought someone was dying in here," Seph said with a sigh. "Wait, Yuna's dancing? Again?"

"Again?" Matt repeated.

"Right, again. You don't hear well, do you?" Seph questioned, drawing a cold glare from the god of lighting. "Before you guys showed up she put on a concert in Luca."

"That wasn't Yunie!" Rikku shouted so forcefully Seph took a step back in surprise.

"Ok, chill. That's just what I've heard," Seph said calmingly.

"It was Leblanc. She use a dress sphere to change into Yuna and perform at Luca," Paine explained.

"Dress sphere?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's a dress sphere?"

"A sphere that grants you different abilities," Shinra explained.

"But they aren't very useful in battle since they give whoever you're fighting a free shot at you," Paine added.

"Yeah, so we only use them to goof around and stuff," Rikku added.

"I see…" Nick said slowly. "Makes sense I guess."

"Wait a second. You said Yuna was gonna dance. Don't you need _music _to dance?" Seph asked calmly.

"Well, yeah, but we picked up some crazy musicians. I'm sure they'll be happy to help," Buddy said with a shrug.

"Ahhh," Seph offered. "Makes sense now."

888

"Something wrong?" Lusniec questioned when he found Yevon kneeling down over a small puddle of sweat and breathing heavily.

"Just some… problems," Yevon forced out before his body began to shake violently.

"Well I kind of gathered _that _much," Lusniec muttered. "What's actually wrong?"

"That damn kid… he's still fighting my control," Yevon spat as he stood up shakily. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just coming to see what you were doing," Lusniec said slowly.

"Why would you be doing that if something wasn't wrong?" Yevon demanded through clenched teeth as he moved to the couch.

"You were supposed to go check up on Shuyin's progress more then two hours ago…" Lusniec said slowly.

"Was I? I didn't notice," Yevon admitted in a somewhat dazed voice.

"I figured as much since you didn't show up," Lusniec said with a shrug. "So I checked up for you. Not that Shuyin liked that."

"How is his end coming along?" Yevon questioned.

"He's done. Vegnagun has been moved to the space it rested in a thousand years ago." Lusniec reported indifferently.

"Well, surprise, surprise," Yevon muttered irritably. "Shuyin _can _do things on his own."

"It would appear so. So what's next?" Lusniec questioned calmly.

"We wait," Yevon said with a sigh.

"We wait? That's it?" Lusniec asked skeptically.

"You know, you've calmed down a lot," Yevon pointed out with a critical glance at the angel. "What happened?"

"Heh, we've all got to learn to control ourselves _sometime_, right? I mean, it may've taken me thousands of years, but I got there," Lusniec lied with a smirk.

"Hmmm… something inside is telling me that you're lying." Even though Yevon's voice was distant Lusniec felt his blood turn to ice.

'If he's figured out that I've gotten back my true memories he'll kill me now,' Lusniec thought without batting an eye. "And why would I lie?"

"Well, why don't you tell me?" Yevon asked, fixing an amused glance on Lusniec who returned it without hesitation.

"Well I don't exactly have a reason. All I'm in this for is to kill Ryan, remember?" Lusniec pointed out calmly.

Yevon watched him for a while before nodding once and saying, "I see. Well then, I'm glad I don't have to kill you."

"That would make two of us," Lusniec agreed without trying to hide the relief that slipped into his voice.

"Well then, I have something I need you to do for me," Yevon said with a sigh.

"Damn," Lusniec muttered to himself. "What is it?"

"I want you to go check on something for me," Yevon shrugged.

"And this something would be?"

Yevon glared at Lusniec through narrowed eyes and hissed, "You don't need to know that. All you need to do is go where I tell you, understand?"

"Yes sir," Lusniec said quickly.

"Good."

888

"Who the heck is Lenne!" Yuna shouted so suddenly that Rikku and Melody stopped singing and everyone turned to look at her in confusion. Flustered, the high Summoner stood up and started towards the door while saying, "I'm going to bed."

As the door hissed shut behind her she took a quivering breath and leaned back against the wall. The gentle pinging of the elevator as it descended was so comforting. "Who's Lenne? Who?" She asked the comforting darkness of the elevator. "Why are you worrying over her? What about me? Do I even matter anymore?"

The door hissed open and she stumbled out and into the nearly pitch-black cabin, through the hallways of the Celsius, and finally came to a stop outside her room. She pressed a button and the door hissed open, revealing a pair of red eyes staring back at her. 'Wonderful.' She thought bitterly as she slowly stepped away. 'Paine's room is just across the hall. If I can get there I can-' her thoughts of escape ended abruptly when Snow came padding up into the light.

"Oh, in the name of the Fayth, thank you…" Snow cocked her head to the side and looked at Yuna questioningly. "What're you doing in my room, and not up on deck with everyone else?" Snow turned around and walked back into Yuna's room. When she came back out Yuna couldn't help but smile. "You brought me my sake? Well that's nice of you." Yuna reached for the bottle but Snow moved her head to the side. "Hey, that's mine. You can't have any." She reached for the bottle again, and again Snow moved away.

"Snow, what're you doing? Give me that bottle," Yuna ordered sternly. Snow hissed and bit down on the bottle, shattering it without any problems. "Snow! What're you doing?" Yuna demanded crossly as she stepped into her room and turned on the light.

And found thirty shattered bottles of Sake lying on the ground. "By the Fayth! Snow, how could you do this to me?" Yuna asked as she slid down the wall in a way similar to the tears that were sliding down her face. "Now what am I supposed to do? I can't see Tidus anymore…"

"Sure you can, Yuna-chan," Sakura corrected as she stopped right outside Yuna's door.

"What're you talking about?" Yuna asked sadly. "I can't… I can barely remember him while I'm sober… I just want to see him again!"

"You don't need to drink to see him again, Yuna-chan," Sakura said gently.

"How do you know? You weren't here… he wasn't even really a person!" Yuna shouted venomously.

Sakura sighed and wrapped her arms around Yuna's shoulders and squeezed gently. "You loved him, didn't you?"

"Yes," Yuna agreed quietly.

"Then it doesn't matter if he was just a dream," Sakura said slowly. "The only difference between dreams and reality is that you have to work to make your dreams real."

"What'd you mean?" Yuna asked in a voice that left no doubt in Sakura's mind that she was confused.

"Well think about it this way. Have you given up on seeing him again?" Sakura asked as gently as she could.

"Sort of…" Yuna admitted after glancing at all the sake still on the ground.

"Don't give up, Yuna-chan," Sakura said encouragingly.

"Why not, Sakura-chan? Matt and Ryan didn't even think about it. They promised they'd find a way to bring Tidus back, and they didn't even give it a second of their time until they got back to Spira!" Yuna shouted as more rivers formed on her face. "They said they would bring him back!"

"Yuna-chan, I wasn't here two years ago. I haven't known Ryan-kun and Matt for very long. But I can tell you this: they'll keep their promises. If they promised to bring Tidus back, then they'll bring Tidus back. I can't say how, I can't say when, I can't say where, but I can say that they will."

"How can you be so sure?" Yuna asked quietly.

"How can you be so sure they won't?" Sakura countered.

"Because he's just a dream. He doesn't… didn't ever exist like a normal human to begin with," Yuna explained.

"Oh come on, Yuna-chan. Dream, real, god, angel, mortal, what does it matter if you love him?" Sakura said with a quiet giggle.

"I suppose that's true," Yuna admitted with a sad smile. "But it hurts so bad."

"Well I guess so. From what I've heard you two were pretty close," Sakura admitted. "But when we were on Mt. Gagazet Ryan-kun and Matt were explaining what had happened two years ago in more detail then they had on earth. One of the things Ryan-kun said was that during one of the battles he and Tidus got knocked off an airship. While they were failing they met someone named Braska, and he said that: 'The dreams of the faith weren't their own. They are the dreams of anyone who truly wishes for their help'."

"So what?" Yuna questioned coldly. "The Fayth, and their dreams, are gone Sakura-chan. All of them."

"Well then how do you explain Ryan-kun summoning Kaze? I mean… I _think_ Kaze was an Aeon… and the Aeons were dreams of the Fayth too, weren't they?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Yeah… they were…" Yuna whispered slowly as realization dawned on her. "And if Ryan can summon Kaze without the help of the Fayth, then we might be able to find a way to summon Tidus!"

"Exactly! So you don't… didn't really need all this Sake, now did you?" Sakura asked with a grin that made Yuna giggle.

"I guess not. I hadn't thought about it that way before…" Yuna admitted. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for," Sakura said with a shrug.

"To help us see the error of our ways and then set us on the right path?" Yuna asked jokingly.

"No… I'm here to show you that you goofed, and then laugh at you while you figure out which path is right for you. I mean, I can't know, I'm not you," Sakura pointed out.

888

"So, what do you think Sakura's doing now?" Nick wondered aloud when Sakura hadn't come back in ten minutes.

"Ummm… who knows?" Seph said with a shrug that earned him a jab in the ribs from Rae.

"So long as she figures out what's wrong with Yunie I don't care," Rikku admitted.

"You can't guess?" Matt asked curiously. "Think about it. She shouted 'Who the heck is Lenne' so she obviously thinks that whoever the guy in the sphere is, is Tidus. And rather then worrying about Yuna, he's worrying about someone named Lenne. If Ryan started worrying more about Kitty then you, how would you take it?"

"Ok, point taken," Rikku said as she snuggled closer to Ryan absently. "Poor Yunie though."

"What about Yuna-chan?" Sakura questioned as the elevator door opened up and Snow and Baby came walking out with Sakura close behind.

"So, how'd it go?" Rae asked as she watched Snow run over to Kitty and lay down in the Lydc's lap.

"She's fine now," Sakura said with a grin. "Oh, and Matt, Ryan-kun. I got you two a second chance to get Tidus back, so don't blow it!"

"Yes ma'am," Matt said jokingly as Sakura sat down next to him.

"Hey, I'm serious. You guys blow this chance, and I'm gonna make you think space is a hot tub, got it?" Sakura warned earnestly.

"Well that's not a very nice thing to say," Ryan commented. "I guess we don't have much of a choice then, now do we?"

Sakura smiled sweetly before saying, "Not in the least bit."

"Well, we should probably get to bed before it gets _too _late. I mean, we do have to give that sphere away tomorrow, remember?" JT reminded the group.

"Man, what a party pooper," Rikku said jokingly as the group got up and shuffled inside.

888

"Yuna-chan. Wake up," Sakura said as she shook Yuna gently.

"What?" Yuna asked as she came around.

"What 'what'?" Paine questioned.

"You ok, Yuna-chan?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"It must've been a dream," Yuna said quickly.

"A dream's a dream," Paine pointed out.

"Blame it on your new jammies!" Rikku put in cheerfully.

"Rikku-chan… you and Ryan-kun are _way _too energetic and cheerful in the mornings, you know that?" Sakura said with a sigh.

"Rikku's just Rikku. Ryan's just a morning person," Paine explained.

"Yeah, I know. _Believe _me, I know." Sakura said with a laugh. "Anyway, Brother-san wants everyone on the bridge."

"Ok, I'll be right there. I just need to get changed first," Yuna said as she got off the bed and headed towards her closet.

"Well, we'll see you on the bridge then," Sakura said as the three filtered out of the room. "Ok, who's next?"

"Seph and Rae…" Rikku said slowly. "I vote for waking Kitty up first. And getting Ryan, and Matt, and Nick to help us out with Seph and Rae."

"What about JT and Melody?" Paine questioned.

"Oh yeah… forgot about them," Rikku said sheepishly.

"How?" Paine questioned.

"Hey, it's the morning. I'm energetic, sure, but that doesn't mean my brain's working!" Rikku argued.

"I didn't know it ever did," Rae said cheerfully as she came out of Seph's room.

"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Rikku complained.

"It was true though," Paine said indifferently.

"Paine! You big meanies!" Rikku shouted.

"Geez, shut up. Its only 9!" Seph complained as he stumbled out of his room.

"Seph-san… you don't have a shirt on…" Sakura said slowly. "And you have a _lot _of scars…"

"Oh, sorry," Seph said before ducking back into his room and returning with a shirt. "Better, ice queen?"

"Much," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "Ok, so now we've only got JT-kun and Melody-chan left, right?"

"Seems that way," Paine muttered as she started towards JT's room.

"I'll get'em!" Rae said so enthusiastically that everyone stared at her. "What?"

"I thought you were completely against your little brother having a girlfriend…" Seph said slowly.

"Well, I was thinking about it before and I guess it had to happen sooner or later, right?" Rae admitted.

"She's up to something," Seph mumbled as he watched Rae sprint down the hallway.

"What makes you say that?" Sakura questioned.

"She's not a morning person," Seph said simply as he started down the hallway.

"Oh boy. I sense a conflict coming on," Sakura said with a large sigh.

888

"Ok you two love birds, wake up," Rae shouted before kicking against JT's door.

"Rae, fryd dra vilg? (Rae, what the fuck?)" JT demanded before tossing a pillow at her head.

"Well good morning. Where's your lover bird?" Rae questioned calmly as she stepped into the room hesitantly, afraid of accidentally stepping on Melody's unconscious form in amongst the multitudes of things lying around the floor. "And couldn't you keep your room a little cleaner? Someone could fall down in here and never be heard from again."

"You know, that's pretty funny, coming from you," JT muttered as he stretched out on the bed and then began to look around for a shirt.

"You still didn't tell me where little lover bird is," Rae noted as she reached the edge of the bed and sat down.

"I'm a 'little love bird' now?" Melody asked as she came into the room in a tank top, and a pair of sweat pants with a towel wrapped around her hair.

"Hey Melody," JT said as he found a shirt and threw it on.

"Don't get dressed up on my account. Seriously, JT, don't get dressed on my account," Melody said somewhat strongly.

"Hey now, wait till I'm not in the room at least," Rae muttered. "Anyway, Brother wants everyone on the bridge right away. Think you two can stay dressed long enough to find out what he wants?"

"Dryd'c ajah vihhean lusehk vnus oui (that's even funnier coming from you)," JT said pleasantly as he stood up and stretched again.

"Muja oui duu (Love you too)," Rae said pleasantly as she got up and slipped out of the room.

"Mind translating…?" Melody asked when Rae was gone.

"Eh, Rae's just telling us to wait till we're alone to have sex," JT said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah… speaking about that… I was wondering. What happened to the really shy kid I met?" Melody wondered as she forced JT onto the bed gently and then sat down on his lap.

"Oh, him? He's still around. He just got to know you," JT said with a smile as Melody leaned against him more fully, slowly forcing him to the bed.

"Oh really?" Melody asked playfully as she slid her hands up under his shirt slowly.

"Really, really," JT said with a sigh. "And if we don't go, they're gonna come looking for us. You want them to do something like _that_ happening on our time?"

"No," Melody admitted before kissing. "Fine, you win this time. Let's go."

* * *

ok, so it was a little boring. sorry. anyway, i'll try to get some more work done, but for now i'm giving it a break. please read and review, even if you don't like me! 


	12. Preparing for War

well i'm back. things have been a little hectic down here as of late, so i hope you people enjoy this chapter. on to the reviews!

mtbanger- yeah, i can't say i ever knew that little detailed. when the heck do you find that out in the game? and yay for reviewing every chapter!

CeE CrOw- wow, all your fics that you havne't been reading? that could take me a while -whistles innocently- anyway... yay for pie!

Sejast Fanel- lol, yay for new chapters is right! this one isn't quite as funny as the last one, and i am getting on MSN more often. you're just not on when i am, sorry!

Auron's Fan- -hugs back- yes, girls can kick ass too! its true! oh, as for the white jackets... -wind cutters white jacktes into oblivion- muwahahahahahahah! and you're right, no moos to them! and have fun chasing down sexy!

Bstgoalie31 - well of course i didn't wanna leave you outta such a prank man. that just wouldn't be right.enjoy man!

KamiKaze no Kage - lol, not the guys didn't get their butts kicked. and yes, that sword is freaky.that'll be explained over time, tho after this chapter you might be able to figure it out. yes, yevon's getting suspicious of Lusniec,and yes Lusniec deserve an award for best undercover good bad guy -hands lusniec award then flees- he's still gay tho -- as for will the guys find a way to bring back tidus... well... maybe. its a possiblity. i mean, three of them are gods, and sakura's a goddess so anything's possible, right?

Reyavie - how did i destroy your chance of passing programing? its not my fault, i swear those files were gone when i got into your hard drive.. i mean no, i don't know how to hack your school's security systems and wipe hard drives from a remote access terminal -shifty eyes- why would you think that? anyway i've never actually been in a food fight... but i'll have to keep coffee beans in mind if i do anymore... and yes, andy came back. you find out a little more 'bout that sword this chapter too. and yes, andyis giving yevon... i dunno, could you say indigestion? lol, anyway, yes, sakura rocks -nods- enjoy!

Da KeR MysTeRr - yes, andy was in the last chapter. he's in this one, too, because he's just awesome like that. and don't blame colleen for you rushing me to update, you! you know its you! you cannot escape the truth! it'll get out... someday... maybe later... when i'm not too lazy to let it out of its cage... yes the guys had to endure some fun training. and your wings may be cooler now, but not for long! mine're gonna be awesome by the end of this series! can you eat the sword? HELL NO! as for the heirs, you gotta read and find out 'cause i'm not gonna tell, althoughi think all will like them. -nods- and yeah, read and enjoy!

labrat-seph - yes, you do ask too many questions! question that would be answered if given time! but, i'll answer what i can... no, andy's not talking to shinagami. shinagami's ryan's short sword, and its not in the middle of nowhere with andy. the thing with auron telling tidus its time to train more will make more sense towards the end of the story, so don't worry yourself 'bout that.the wind spirit will be explained soon, too, probably in the next match with lusniec, and the late bf thing will as well. AS WILL DNORITH getting impaled. so, yeah, enjoy! and for future reference, i don't have a beta reader... at all...

Shadowkiller27 - no, they haven't. had i known you were reviewing i'd have replied, sorry dude. anywho, read on and enjoy!

* * *

Preparing for War 

"What the heck took you two so long?" Seph questioned when Melody and JT walked onto the bridge late.

"Melody decided to do her hair… again," JT said as he lifted one of the numerous braids in his girlfriend's hair.

"So why are _you _late?" Rae questioned.

"Because I made him help," Melody said with a satisfied grin as JT rolled his eyes and tried to hide his embarrassment.

"You… _helped_?" Rae asked in surprise.

"Actually… I didn't help. I _did _it," JT corrected nervously. "_All _of it."

"That's… a unique talent," Nick said slowly.

"Well, Rae always made me do it when we were still living in the same house. She actually tied me down for two hours once to explain how to do braids. After that, I was so afraid she'd tie me down that I didn't argue. I just did it," JT explained with a shrug. "I guess its something that just stuck with me over the years."

"Well now. I never knew you were so… _forceful _as a child," Seph said before adding under his breath, "But it would explain a few things."

"I heard that," Rae commented dryly as she stepped away from Seph and made a show of sitting down across the room.

"Can we be get back to the topic!" Brother demanded crossly.

"Who're we giving the sphere to," Paine explained for the late arrivals.

"Youth League or New Yevon," Buddy added.

"Because Gippal can't be trusted with the decision," Shinira finished up.

"Well, I've seen what New Yevon can do. So have all of you, for that matter, even if not to the extent that me and JT and Melody have. There's no doubt who I'm going with. Youth League," Seph stated firmly.

"I trust Seph. Count me in for Youth League," Rae added from her spot across the room.

"Same here," Melody said through a clenched jaw.

"I'm with them," JT admitted.

"You guys are really against New Yevon, aren't you?" Yuna commented slowly.

"Yeah, well. They allied themselves with Yevon and Lusniec, remember?" Matt reminded her.

"Oh yeah. Guess that sums it up, doesn't it?" Yuna questioned. "Brother, we'll give the sphere to the Youth League."

"Then I guess I'm staying here," Seph commented.

"Why's that?" Rikku questioned.

"Bad past with the Meyvn?" Paine asked bluntly.

"Something like that," Seph said with in an eerily calm voice that not only clued Matt in that there was something going on that neither of them were brining up, but it seemed like he was challenging Paine to reply.

And it seemed like she was going to until Brother shouted, "Works for me! Let's go with it! Gullwings, move out!"

888

Lucil was surprised to when the scouts came back shouting that the High Summoner had returned. "Alright everyone, form ranks! High Summoner Yuna's coming to visit!" Even though many of the people around hated forming ranks normally, much less for any one person, everyone was in position so fast that Lucil raised an eyebrow.

Because one girl was lagging behind, hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans, muttering to herself as the gentle breeze forced her shoulder-blade length brown hair out of her face. "Brooke, come here!" Lucil ordered crossly.

"Yes Ma'am," Brooke replied in a bored tone as she changed direction in mid step. Lucil's blood seemed to turn to ice as it coursed through her veins. Brooke had only joined two days after Lady Yuna had left the last time she'd visited, but since then she'd been nothing but a rude pain in the Chocobo Knight's neck. "You called, Ma'am?"

"Why weren't you forming rank like everyone else?" Lucil demanded as calmly as she could. "Lady Yuna is coming!"

"Good for Lady Yuna," Brooke replied with a shrug. "Is that all?"

"_Good for Lady Yuna_?" Lucil hissed in disbelief. Even _Brooke _had to know who Yuna was. Lucil didn't care _who _she had been before she joined the Youth League; she was going to do her duty and form rank when she was told to. "It is thanks to Lady Yuna that we're free of Sin! Without her we would still be living in fear and despair!"

"Sorry, but until she proves she's as great as everyone makes her out to be, I'm not giving her any special treatment," Brooke said as she examined her fingernails.

"You insolent brat!" Lucil screeched as she reached for her sword.

Brooke was faster though. A gun appeared in her hand, barrel pressed against Lucil's forehead, before the Chocobo Knight's hand was even on the hilt of her sword. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Brooke hissed. "I don't like killing people, but I make an exception for those that decide to attack me. Understand, _Ma'am_?"

"You know you won't get away with this," Lucil pointed out. "You can't kill everyone here."

"Who said anything about killing you? I'm just showing you that you're not that special, Ma'am," Brooke said with a smile as she turned the gun so Lucil could see the safety was on. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have places to be."

"Where are you going?" Lucil demanded of the gun-wielding brat.

"Well its clear that I don't fit in around here, so I figure I'll go find some fiends to kill then figure out what to do from there," Brooke explained without slowing down. "Se ya later, Ma'am!"

888

Brooke couldn't help but beam as she walked down the path away from the Youth League headquarters. Even though her parents _had _insisted she join the Youth League, she'd never really wanted to. Not that her parents really _cared _what she thought. They just wanted to get rid of her so they didn't have to share their money. They were always hording it, calculating and scheming about how to make more, never spending a cent more then necessary.

'Guess you don't get to be one of the richest couples in the world simply by throwing your money away though,' she thought glumly as she reflected on how many good people her parents had killed over the past two years. The thought made her blood boil in rage.

And made her completely unaware of the group fiends that were creeping up behind her until one of them jumped at her. The sudden shadows of a pair of raptors dropping towards the ground was barely enough of a warning for her to jump forward. She cried out in pain as one of the fiends managed to get its claw onto the back of her leg, shredding it from just below the knee to just above her ankle. Even so she remembered to turn around and draw her gun in mid air. 'Guess working for the Youth League wasn't completely useless.'

But she found herself aiming at just a tail that was barely more then a blur, which could only mean one thing. The raptor was hasted, though she had no idea how. All she knew was that meant, more then likely, she'd only see it _as _it was cutting her into pieces, not a few seconds in advance like she normally did. Three lines of burning pain erupted on her back and caused her to stumble forward.

Cursing, she kept moving. She couldn't even see one of these things, none the less fight against one. If she didn't get back to the Youth League headquarters, she'd be dead. But no matter how fast she ran it didn't matter. That raptor was going to catch up with her. It was just a matter of time until her luck ran out. Then she'd be seeing her family on the Farplane.

888

"Oh hell, what's _with _these fiends?" Nick complained under his breath as he pulled his hockey stick out of another fiend's skull and examined the gash on his arm before sarcastically adding, "They're all hasted, or have protection, or something to that extent. Its like someone wants us dead."

"Gee, wonder who it could be this time. Lusniec? Yevon? Some _new _person that's out to kill us?" Matt questioned pleasantly.

"Oh, _that _would be wonderful," Seph commented dryly. "Maybe it's like, Sin's heir or something…"

"Hey… I never even considered that…" Ryan admitted. "We need to find Sin's heir, too, don't we?"

"Guess so," Seph said with a sigh. "Damn all these rules…"

"Wait, guys… we need _all _the heirs, right?" Matt asked with a hint of uncertainty creeping into his voice.

"Yeah, so?" Seph questioned.

"What about Yevon's?" Sakura whispered with slow disbelief.

"Exactly. Yevon _knows _the rules," Matt said forcefully. "And he's no fool, he's proved that much."

"What're you getting at?" JT questioned. "I mean, sure, Yevon's no fool. But he's also a cocky, arrogant piece of shit."

"Maybe, but he doesn't seem the kind to take chances," Matt pointed out. "What're the odds that he's letting his heir run around free?"

"How did we _not _see that earlier?" Ryan wondered aloud.

"Well this certainly throws a bit of a problem at us, now doesn't it?" Nick muttered as Melody walked over to heal the cut that was gushing blood.

"Be more careful. We _do _have a limit to how much we can heal people. And if you're getting hurt in random fights with fiends we're gonna run out of healing magic _real _quick, got it?" Melody demanded as the cut began to close itself.

"Yes ma'am," Nick muttered as he glanced around. "Something doesn't seem right. Is it me or did it suddenly get quiet?"

"Hey, he's right," Seph said slowly as he glanced around casually. "Wonder what's up."

Before anyone could answer a high pitched scream split through the air from farther up the road. The group shared one look before everyone took off in the direction the scream had come from.

888

Brooke couldn't help but let out a scream. As if dealing with all these hasted fiends wasn't bad enough, one of them had to go and knock her over the edge of the cliff. Now she was only alive because her gun got stuck in a crevice. Not that it mattered. It wasn't like she'd be able to hold on much longer. And if she _did _manage to get back up, those fiends would tear her apart before she got the chance to do anything.

'Well, I guess the world'll be a better place in a few minutes, won't it Brooke?' she thought to herself sarcastically. Maybe it would, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was going to die unless someone miraculously came to her rescue. 'Thinking of a knight in shining armor now, Brooke? Man, you really _are _losing it. You know they don't exist,' she chided herself mentally. 'No, bad Brooke. Stayed focused. You have to ge-'

The sound of an explosion, followed by a whimpering raptor flying over her head without its front legs and half its face blown off stopped her train of thought dead in its tracks.

'Well, as gross as that is, I've never been happier to see something half blown apart,' Brooke thought as the sound of several more raptors whimpering ended abruptly.

"You ok down there?" Someone called as his head appeared over the lip of the cliff.

"In the name of Spira, shut up and help me!" Brooke shouted instead of greeting the kid. Normally she'd have been more courteous, but she was losing her grip on her gun.

"Right, right, hold your chocobos," the kid said as he slipped over the lip of the cliff and made his way down so quickly that Brooke was sure he'd slipped and just caught himself when he was next to her. Before she could say anything his arm was around her waist, and he was carrying her up the side of the cliff while holding onto what _looked _like a string of water that seemed to be coming out of another guy's hand.

"Geez, what happened to your leg?" A brown haired girl who looked impossibly familiar asked as she came running up with another girl and a guy who looked somewhat familiar as well. She looked around the group and found three other familiar faces as the two girls and the guy healed the various wounds she'd gotten from the raptors.

And while they did that, she realized why they looked familiar and she felt her eyes widen with astonishment. "Lady Yuna? Sir Ryan, Sir Matt, Lady Rikku, Sir Seph?" She gasped in disbelief.

"Hold still or your wounds'll re-open. I don't like healing wounds more then once if I don't have to, not with the day we've been having so far," The girl that was helping Lady Yuna and Sir Ryan heal her said dully.

"Sorry. I'm just not used to seeing so many famous people in one place," Brooke admitted as she continued to look around, eventually spotting someone else who looked vaguely familiar. "_Rae_!"

"Hey Brooke," The Al Bhed Summoner replied with a smirk. "Still getting into trouble I see."

"You're not one to talk…" Seph pointed out quietly, quickly earning him a jab to the ribs from Rae's elbow.

"Shove it, water boy," Rae hissed. "Anyway, what're you doing out here? I thought you were still back in Bevelle."

"Well, you know my parents. Always looking for ways to cut bills and what not. This time they decided 'well we don't need Brooke, so we'll send her to the Youth League.' Only thing is… well, you know me. I can't deal with all those rules and stuff, so… I flipped out on Lucil earlier."

"Oh man. Why'd you flip out on her?" Rae questioned slowly.

Brooke shrugged. "I didn't like her, she didn't like me. It just kind of happened," Brooke said with an innocent grin.

"Well… I hope you didn't step on _too _many toes when you left," Rae said with a sigh as Yuna, Ryan, and Melody finished their spells. "Because if you're going to tag along for awhile, you're going to be back there in a few minutes…"

"Oh boy…" Brooke muttered sarcastically as she hopped up to her feet and examined her horribly torn up clothing. "Oh man, this is going to draw some stares…"

"I think it might be already," Sakura noted as she jabbed Nick in the side.

"Sakura-chan, what the heck was that for?" Nick demanded in annoyance.

"Starring," Sakura replied simply.

"Was I?" Nick asked in a curious voice.

"That's what that drool on your lip is telling me," Sakura said with a shrug that caused Nick to reach up and find nothing on his face. "Got'cha."

"Ha, ha, very funny," Nick replied with a roll of his eyes as he took off his jacket and held it out to Brooke. "It might be a bit big… but I figure _one _guy staring at you is probably more then enough isn't it?"

Brooke took the jacket and put it on quickly before nodding her thanks and adding in, "Shesh kid, you're a bit bigger then me…"

"Well I did warn you it might be a bit big…" Nick commented as he looked her over. The jacket had to come down to at least the bottom of her butt.

"Gullwings! To the Youth League Headquarters!" Brother shouted as he started running in the direction they'd just come from.

"Man… he's excited…" Seph commented before everyone else, although Brooke somewhat reluctantly, followed.

888

"Shesh, talk about overdoing it," Seph muttered as the group walked through the rows of soldiers who were beaming with pride.

"They're really pulling out all the stops!" Rikku agreed as she spun in a slow circle to take in the entire headquarters.

"I wonder why…" Yuna muttered absently.

Paine opened her mouth to say something but Brooke beat her to the punch. "Gee, I dunno, maybe the most famous person in all of Spira is visiting them?"

"Who throws a party for the people that ripped them off?" Buddy wondered aloud.

"I was wondering that myself…" Matt admitted as he scanned the ranks carefully.

"Tadyemc, tadyemc. Cruf cusa lmycc, kioc. (Details, details. Show some class, guys.)" Brother replied casually as he soaked in the attention while Lucil walked towards them, glaring at Brooke who replied with a pleasant smile of her own.

"Lady Yuna, its an honor. Meyvn Nooj is waiting for you. This way, please," The Youth League commander said without removing her glare from Brooke until she turned sharply and headed towards the massive tent that served as Nooj's personal quarters, planning room, meeting room, and anything else in a pinch. "Please, the Meyvn is waiting."

"We'd like to give you the sphere you were looking for," Yuna said when she saw Nooj, producing the sphere they'd come to give to the Youth League. "Now that you have this, you can stop the fighting in Kilika."

"How generous… and how sudden," Nooj said with a wary gaze. "Perhaps you should start by introducing yourself, High Sum-"

"Stop playing games, you know she is," Seph stated agitatedly. "We've got other things to do, Nooj, so if we could hurry this along… I mean, I have the _oddest _feeling you're not celebrating _me _coming here, you don't know Matt, Ryan, or Nick that well, Rikku, Paine, and Rae are just nobodies to you, along with Brooke, JT, and Melody."

"As observant, and rude, as ever," Nooj said with a chuckle. "Very well. I gratefully accept the sphere you have brought. On behalf of the Youth League, I thank you. Everyone, three cheers for the Gullwings!" The ranks started cheering even before he was done saying the words. The cheering continued well after three cheers, with Rikku, Rae, and Sakura goading it on eagerly. "You've chosen interesting companions, Seph." Nooj said quietly, just loud enough for Seph to hear.

"Times are changing. Besides, Matt… he's just too dangerous to go against," Seph said as he narrowed his eyes at the thunder god until Matt turned around and smirked at him. The comment hadn't been as quiet as Seph had thought.

"Too dangerous to go against?" Nooj asked smugly. "Is Spira's top assassin getting cold feet?"

"How many people do _you _know that can rip a fiend's jaw off with ease?" Seph countered calmly.

"Several," Nooj said simply.

"Can any of them summon a giant wolf made entirely of lighting?" Seph questioned.

"No, admittedly. So the legends of his power… they're true. I must admit, it is more then slightly startling," Nooj said calmly.

"I'd rather fight the entire Crimson Squad at once again, then fight Matt to the death," Seph said after a short, uneasy silence had passed between the two of them.

"What of Ryan?" Nooj asked.

"He's good with a sword, but he's not on Matt's level. Nor is he on mine, for that matter, not that I'd want to find out how close he actually is to my skill." Seph admitted. "But the real threat… that's Lusniec. The bastard… he took out our entire group in a few minutes, without killing any of us."

"So, the rumors that Lusniec has returned are true. I must admit, I was hoping they weren't."

Seph glanced over at the Youth League leader. It was the first time he'd ever seen Nooj looking so nervous. But that vanished quickly as the cheering came to an end, replaced by the same look Nooj always wore.

"So did you watch it?" He asked Yuna once everyone was facing him again.

"Is there any reason we shouldn't have?" Nick asked before anyone could say anything.

"So you did watch it. Well then. Forget," Nooj ordered bluntly.

"I'm afraid I cannot," Yuna admitted quietly.

"Yuna!" The High Summoner looked over at Paine, surprised by the sudden outburst. "Don't let him push you around."

"Some advice: That… thing… that colossus you saw is known as Vegnagun," Nooj explained. "It posses overwhelming destructive power. It must not be touched! Yet those Yevon fools think they can control it. The Youth League will do whatever it takes to make sure they do not get a chance to try. Trust me, you _don't _want to get involved."

"Gee, giant destructive robots, foolish religions thinking they can control them. Sounds rather interesting to me," Nick said with a shrug.

"Tell me… who was the man I saw in the sphere?" Yuna pleaded.

"I cannot say." Nooj admitted.

"I see," Yuna said with a sigh.

"Hey, we got a distress signal from the Celsius!" Buddy shouted as he came bursting into the tent, panting heavily. "Gullwings, we're leaving!"

888

"What's missing?" Yuna questioned as soon as she found Barkeep.

"Ish no know mish Yuna. Ish stiw wooking." Barkeep said as he ducked behind

the bar.

"Well, lets think about this logically," Seph said dryly. "This is the Gullwings' vehicle, right? The Gullwings are Sphere Hunters. What could someone _possibly _want from a Sphere Hunter?"

Matt smacked himself in the forehead. "God I feel like a dumbass," he muttered as he sprinted down the halls towards the room where the Gullwings kept all their spheres with everyone close behind.

When they found the door it, and a great deal of the surrounding wall, was blown apart. "Well, I don't think we need to remember to lock the door anymore…" Matt said as he stepped through the rubble carefully and looked around, counting off the spheres in his head.

"Where's the half-sphere?" Paine asked just as Matt opened his mouth.

"Mish Yuna!" Barkeep yelled as he came running down the hallway with a giant pink sphere. "I fouwnd dish in da engine woom!"

"A pink sphere with a heart on it?" Rae asked in a mixture of horror and confusion. "Who would create such a thing?"

"I've got a hunch I know…" Seph muttered as he walked over and turned on the sphere.

"_Who's on top now, dullwings? It'll be a thousand years before you can take on the mighty Leblanc!"_ Leblanc said proudly as Ormi and Logos laughed in the background before the sphere turned off.

"Cocky, isn't she?" Kitty muttered. "Now what do we do?"

"Well, we get that sphere back for starters," Matt suggested.

"Chateau Leblanc is rather well guarded for a scatter-brained Sphere Hunter's head quarters," Seph commented. "Not to mention that once the Guado left the Farplane started to become unstable. Who knows what going on with it? The people don't, they look to Leblanc's gang for protection from whatever's going on in there. If anything comes out, they'll run right to Leblanc. And they'll protect, or at least help out, Leblanc's gang to ensure their own protection from the spirits of the Farplane."

"So they'll risk their lives to protect the people who are supposed to protect them?" Nick asked in confusion.

"Well nobody said they were smart," Seph replied easily. "But it certainly complicates our situation a little."

"She got us," Paine said indifferently.

"Oh, poopie!" Yuna stated out of annoyance.

"I feel really dumb now…" Ryan admitted quietly.

"We're gonna take it back," Yuna declared. "No one messes with us!"

"And what about Vegnagun?" Paine questioned.

"We're forgetting who we are!" Yuna said after a few seconds. "We're Sphere Hunters! The Gullwings!"

"That's right!" Brother agreed enthusiastically. "We steal back what is stolen. It is the law of the Sphere Hunters! Now we go to Chateau Leblanc! We attack in the name of honor!" Brother finished by striking a ridiculous pose that had everyone just staring at him for several seconds.

"… get our hineys kicked in the name of honor," Shinra said, as much to break the amused silence as to point out the fact. "Didn't you hear anything Seph said?"

"What about disguises?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, they're always wearing those outfits. One for guys, one for girls," Nick agreed.

"And they've got masks, too!" Rae added. "Nobody'd recognize us."

"So, we have to fly around until we find Leblanc's gang-"

Paine cut Rikku off by saying: "Beat them up, and steal their uniforms." She glanced at the group. "Lots of them."

"Actually… I don't need one," Rae said slowly. She smiled innocently as all eyes turned to face her. "See, before the Lydc captured me I was in Guadosalam. I knew Leblanc two years ago when she lived in Bevelle."

"So that's why you were in Guadosalam," Seph said quietly. "Going to get a favor from an old friend with lots of connections. Intelligent."

"You aren't the only smart one around here, you know," Rae said with a grin. "I can take two or three people she doesn't know and we can get in before you."

"Well, don't look at me," Seph said. "I don't wanna be in there any longer then I have to be."

"And me and Ryan beat the crap outta her and her buffoons on Gagazet." Matt added.

"And Rikku, Paine, and I are her biggest rivals." Yuna added.

"I don't really care either way," JT said simply. "Because, regardless of what I say, you'll make me go if you want me to."

"Wow, you're starting to catch on aren't you?" Rae asked innocently. "Melody, what about you? You gonna come with us?"

The white mage shrugged her shoulder. "Doesn't bother me either way."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Someone shouted from the hallway leading from the main entrance.

"That sounded like that girl we saved earlier…" Seph commented absently.

"That's because it _is _me," Brooke said proudly as she turned the corner. "When you guys left in such a hurry… well, lets just say that Lucil didn't give me a warm welcome. In fact… she banned me from the Youth League head quarters."

"And we care… why?" Seph asked calmly.

"Because, I spent most of my time in the Youth League as a messenger. I can't count how many times I've been to Chateau Leblanc delivering messages for Nooj."

"So in other words… you want to help us steal back our stolen half-sphere?" Nick finished up.

"Exactly," Brooke agreed.

"Ok, so how many people do you usually have escorting you?" JT questioned.

"Two people," Brooke said with a shrug. "Like I said, I was a messenger. They could've gotten any number of people to deliver messages. I think they were only there 'cause my mom's one of the biggest supporters of the Youth League."

"Ok, so who else wants to go?" Seph questioned.

"I'll go," Nick volunteered after a few seconds of silence.

"I think that's a good enough advanced force," JT insisted. "Even though she'll be short a guard, she can always just lie about her other guard being off helping with some operation or another, and the more people we have, the more likely its going to be that we get caught."

"True that," Nick agreed. "Besides, if things go wrong, this'll be more then enough power to get us out of there."

"I guess its settled then. But what do we do until we leave?" Buddy questioned.

"Well, we're gonna need some spandex outfits, right?" Ryan asked sadly.

"We might as well get this over with…" Seph agreed with a sigh. "I really don't want to dress in spandex…"

"Would you rather dress up like a maid and cook more pie?" Rae asked with a grin.

"I'm never going to hear the end of that, am I?"

"Not a chance pal," Matt said before anyone could say anything.

Seph glanced back at his friend before muttering: "I'll kill you one of these days, just so you know."

"I look forward to it," Matt replied calmly. "In the mean time, lets get us some spandex."

"I never thought I'd hear that coming from a straight guy," Nick admitted as the group walked off to the bridge to scan the sphere net for any sightings of Leblanc's gang.

888

Andy shook his head, and not for the first time since finding the sword, thought he was going insane. How could a sword talk, after all? No, Yevon possessing him must have been messing with his head after all.

Yet no matter how crazy it was to talk to a sword, he couldn't deny that he was glad to hear someone, or something, else's voice for a chance. Nor could he believe that what he was hearing was true.

Not that he would have minded if it was true. But how could he believe a talking sword when it told him "I'm the only person in the world that Yu Yevon fears"?

"So if Yevon fears you so much, why aren't you dead?" Andy asked when he'd recovered from his shock.

"Well, if Yevon hates you so much, why aren't you dead?" The sword replied simply.

"Touché," Andy admitted. "You still haven't given me your name. Or told me how you got here. Or, for that matter, why Yevon fears you so much."

"I told you before, we haven't gotten that far yet. Just as you don't know if you can trust me, I'm not entirely sure I can trust you," The sword replied calmly. "When, and if, we ever come to that point, I'll be glad to answer those questions."

"Ok, fine. Then how is it that if Yevon fears you so much, he imprisoned you?" Andy asked through a clenched jaw. This sword was annoyingly good at dodging questions, and giving cryptic answers.

"He didn't fear me for my power. In fact, he still doesn't," The sword said simply.

"Right… then why _does _he fear you?" Andy asked.

"Well, he's corrupt and desires to keep his power above all else," the sword said in a voice that made Andy suspect that, if it had shoulders it would have shrugged them.

"So… wait… no way…" Andy said as he began to understand what the sword was talking about.

"Ahhh, and so you begin to understand my pyro-driven friend," The sword said with an amused chuckle. "Well then, perhaps we could get down to business?"

888

"So we split up to find outfits?" Sakura asked. "Look in places that Leblanc's goons seem to show up in a lot?"

"Well there's Zanarkand, for one," Matt commented.

"They've shown up on Gagazet, too," Rikku pointed out.

"We could check the High Road, too. Never know what you'll find there," Ryan pointed out.

"And it probably wouldn't hurt to check around Mushroom Rock road, either," Paine added.

"What about Bikanel Desert? The places is huge, there may be someone there too," Buddy suggested.

"So then… who goes with who, and where?" Seph asked calmly. "Nick, JT, Melody, Rae, and Brooke are getting dropped off outside of Guadosalam first, right? That leaves me, Paine, Rikku, Sakura, Matt, Ryan, and Kitty."

"Well given that Sakura and Kitty don't know all that much 'bout Spira it'd probably be wise to send someone who knows about Spira with each of them," Rikku stated. "So how 'bout… Yunie and Paine, me and Ryan, Matt and Sakura-chan, and Seph and Kitty?"

"Works for me," Matt said with a shrug.

"I'm not gonna complain," Ryan admitted.

"So long as I'm not working with Paine," Seph muttered under his breath.

"Anyone want a particular spot?" Sakura asked while ignoring the obvious glare Paine was giving Seph.

"Me and Paine can take Zanarkand, right Paine?" Yuna asked.

"Sure," was all Paine said.

"Ok, then Matt-kun and I will take Gagazet!" Sakura said cheerfully.

"Kitty and I will take Mushroom Rock Road, starting at Djose temple and heading towards Guadosalam," Seph glanced over at his Lydc companion before adding, "So long as she doesn't have a problem with that."

"I don't mind," Kitty said with a smile. "Like Rikku said, I don't know much about the surface."

"Guess me and Rikku can take the Highroad then," Ryan said simply.

"Works for me," Rikku agreed.

"Well then, all that's left is to get started," Seph said with just enough of his old-self shinning through to send a chill down the spine of everyone else gathered.

888

"Shuyin, they'll be coming soon. Are you ready?" Yevon questioned sternly.

"Of course I'm ready. Who do you think you're talking to, Lusniec?" Shuyin shot back, enjoying the scowl the comment brought to the angel's face. "They'll come to destroy Vegnagun, and I'll kill them. Its as simple as that!"

"You have to do it without them knowing you're not Baralai you fool. Can you do _that_?" Yevon demanded in an urgent whisper.

"You think I've been sitting around on my ass this whole time?" Shuyin hissed back. "I'm no fool, I know my part in the plan. Nobody can know I'm not Baralai, and believe me, I've been practicing with this… _thing_," Shuyin held up Baralai's weapon with a hint of disgust. "Its no sword, but it'll get the job done, you can be sure of that."

"It had better. Things are moving in the Farplane, things that cannot be allowed to interferes with our plans, and that means we _cannot afford any mistakes_!" Yevon said in a dangerously low tone. "If we do make a mistake, you'll never get your revenge, nor will you have any chance of ever seeing Lenne's soul."

"I don't make mistakes," Shuyin replied easily, but the look in his eye showed Yevon his comment had hit its mark. There was a fear there, one that had always been there, and Yevon had been waiting to use it against his unsent underling.

"Be sure that you don't. Hurry and move Vegnagun some place safe, or we'll never be able to destroy Spira, understood?"

"What's that looser doing?" Shuyin questioned as he turned his gaze to Lusniec.

"I've diverted their attention away from you by keeping them wondering when I'm going to attack next, _and _taken one of their most powerful weapons," Lusniec replied as he drew Wind Cutter. "Without this, Ryan will be significantly less powerful." Shuyin rolled his eyes and inwardly Lusniec wanted to lash out and cut the unsent's head off right there. 'Of course, with him, the less of a chance he seems to have, the better he seems to do. I wonder, Shuyin, how will _you _fair against him?'

888

"Take care everyone!" Kitty shouted as the Celsius took off, leaving her and Seph standing a little ways away from the headquarters of the Machina Faction.

"You ready?" Seph asked when their friends were out of sight.

"Yep," Kitty replied cheerfully. "So, where to from here?"

Seph pointed towards Djose temple. "You remember Gippal, right? The guy who was with you and Rae?"

"Oh yeah, that guy. What about him?" Kitty asked curiously.

"He disappeared. And while I'm not overly fond of him, something that could kill him, or something worth him abandoning the Machina Faction is definitely worth checking out."

"I see. I take it he's not as weak as he looks, then?" Kitty asked as the two started towards the temple.

"Not in the least bit, actually. Nor is Baralia, the Praetor of New Yevon, or Nooj, Myven of the Youth League," Seph said with a sigh. "All of them… they were an amazing group. The only ones who ever survived the test to get in, too."

"What group?" Kitty asked quietly.

"Well, two years ago there was a monster called Sin. It was really the god of death in disguise. And to counter the increasing number of fiends that Sin brought with it, the leaders of Spira decided that they need an elite fighting squad, just in case. Thus they created the Crimson Squad project. They took the best fighters from around the world, divided them into squads, and then and then they had to fight all kinds of stuff, including each other. In the end, Nooj, Baralai, Gippal, and the girl who recorded everything they did for the four Maesters of Yevon survived." He sighed and stopped walking. "But they didn't manage to stay together long. Even before we killed Sin tension started growing between the members."

"What kind of tension?" Kitty asked quietly.

"Whenever you're part of an elite fighting squad, you're going on missions that are more dangerous then most people could ever imagine. Its only natural that the tensions would grow quickly. But while Sin was around they had something they could focus on, a goal that that could keep them united and working together, even if just barely. Once Sin was gone though…"

"They lost the only thing keeping them together, right?" Kitty finished up for the assassin.

"Exactly. They each went their own way. Baralai reformed the Yevon faith, Nooj formed and opposing group, and Gippal is distancing himself from both of them as much as he can." Seph said simply. "And the fact that Nooj _and _Gippal both disappeared isn't good for anyone."

"Man, I picked the _puuurfect _time to come to the surface, didn't I?" Kitty asked with a sigh.

"Yeah, looks that way." Seph said sadly as a pair of guards stepped in his way when he went to enter Djose temple.

"Nobody may enter at this time," They said in perfect unision.

"Tough shit," Seph said without slowing down, easily shouldering his way past the two guards.

"We _said_-" one guard said as the other grabbed Seph's arm and spun him around, only to back away when Seph glared at him.

"I _know _what you said," Seph said in a calm, restrained, and thoroughly terrifying voice. "And I'm going to go in. Now you can open the doors for me, or you can die. Your choice."

The guards, terrified by Seph's glare, stumbled and fell as they scrambled to open the door for him. "Wow… that worked well," Kitty commented as the guards yelled for help to open the heavy doors. "Move it you two, I'll do this," Kitty said as she stepped forward and put her hands in the crack between the two doors.

"Kitty, what're you doing…?" Seph asked slowly. Kitty ignored him and began to pull. "It takes four men, or Matt, to open those doo-" The groan of the heavy doors moving cut him off and he watched in disbelief.

"Now, what were you saying?" Kitty asked when the door was completely open. She was breathing heavily, and sweating a little, but Seph just shook his head in amazement which caused Kitty to smile innocently. "Shall we, then?"

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Seph whispered as the two walked into the temple, leaving a group of confused and terrified Spirians outside.

888

"I've kinda missed this place since we were last here," Sakura admitted as she and Matt trekked up Gagazet's snowy slopes.

"Only the future Goddess of Ice could miss these temperatures," Matt pointed out dryly, which caused Sakura to give him an impish smile.

"Come on, its not as cold as it was before and you know it. Besides, don't you like being here, all alone, with me?" Sakura asked with a hint of sadness in her voice, though Matt could tell it was just bait to get him to admit he didn't mind.

"Not at all," He said sarcastically. Sakura stared at him in shock but before she could say anything, freeze him on the spot, or storm off he continued, "I mean, who in their _right mind _would wanna be all alone with a beautiful goddess. Doesn't make sense to me."

Sakura's shock was replaced by amusement as she recognized that sarcasm in his voice. "Well, nobody said you were in your right mind, now did they?"

"Nope, I know I certainly didn't. Nor did Ryan or Nick, I'm sure," Matt said with a shrug as they reached the Ronso Village. "Lil' boy blue, how're you doing?"

"Kimahri sorry," The odd reply left Sakura and Matt both staring at him in confusion.

"For… what?" Matt prompted slowly.

"Kimahri look for sphere for friends. But Kimahri find nothing. Kimahri disappoint friends." Kimahri said sadly.

"Hey, no worries lil' boy blue. We appreciate the help, but we gotta take care of our own problems too," Matt said with a shrug.

"Kimahri search mountain for long time. But still one place Kimahri not look," Kimahri said as he turned to gaze up at the mountain that was his home. "Fayth Scar rises high on mountain. Scar is sacred ground, which Ronso not tread."

"Wonder what all could be up there..." Sakura wondered aloud, drawing several concerned glances from the other Ronso present.

"Summoners no longer climb mountain. Now only Sphere Hunters come," Kimahri explained sadly. "Kimahri worry hunters defile sacred ground."

"Could be Leblanc's goons," Sakura pointed out.

"Maybe we should check it out. That ok, blue?" Matt asked as he shifted Lightning Edge and Off-Hand into more comfortable positions.

"Kimahri trust friends. Kimahri not worry." Kimahri said, drawing confused looks from even more of the Ronso who were listening in on the conversation.

888

It didn't take Matt and Sakura long to get to Fayth Scar. Even so, by the time they were there, Matt couldn't feel either of his hands in the least, a fact that Sakura didn't let him live down.

Until they reached the cliffs, and Sakura just stood there staring. "What's wrong?" Matt asked without stopping.

"We have to climb _that_?" Sakura asked in shock. Matt looked up in time to see one of Leblanc's goon girls jumping from cliff to cliff.

"Yeah, especially since Leblanc's gang is here," Matt said as he tightened the straps holding Lighting Edge and Off-Hand to his sides. "Come on, Sakura-chan. Don't like climbing or something?"

"Not really, no," Sakura admitted as she continued to make sure that her Tonfas were secured, a process that was taking a lot longer then it should have.

"Come on, its not that bad," Matt encouraged as he started up the cliff himself. Behind him he heard Sakura groan, which was followed by the sound of snow crunching as she walked up to the base. Matt sighed quietly, and sat down on the section he'd just reached to wait. And when Sakura got to that one he climbed up to the next one and waited, and did the same with the next one, until they reached the top where Sakura flopped down on the ground with a relieved sigh. "See? Wasn't that bad, was it?"

"I don't like climbing," Sakura said simply as she accepted his outstretched hand. She was about to say something else when Matt put a finger to her lips.

"That water felt great," Someone down the other side of the cliff said happily. "Can you believe there's a hot spring in a place like this?"

"But isn't this supposed to be sacred Ronso ground?" another woman asked, this one significantly more uncertain then the first. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea…"

"What? You think some Ronso boogie man is gonna come get you?" The first woman asked with a laugh. "Better then the boss, you know what I mean?" Matt and Sakura crept to the edge of the cliff to see what was going on just as a fat man with a shield on his back came around a corner.

"Great… we get the dense one to deal with," Matt said dryly.

"Hey! You two been slacking off?" Ormi demanded of the two women.

"No, we were, uh, getting ready for duty. Just trying to, uh, rejuvenate, sir," The first one lied.

"Wow, bad liars…" Sakura commented quietly. Matt opened his mouth to reply, but instead of his reply, Sakura heard rock grinding against rock, and air rushing past her ears. Before she knew what had happened, she was sitting on the rock, soaking wet, and watching the backs of the panicked members of Leblanc's gang disappear around the corner.

"Well… that worked rather well… but why is there a hot spring up here?" Matt wondered aloud as he examined the hot spring they were now sitting in.

"Well, rather then wondering _why _its here, why not just sit back and enjoy it?" Sakura suggested as she slipped into the water with a smile.

"Where's the fun in that?" Matt asked sarcastically as he unhooked Lighting Edge and Off-Hand and placed them on the rock he was sitting on.

"I dunno, I mean its not like we're alone or anything," Sakura said with a slight smirk as Matt took off his shirt and slid into the water. "Geez, given what I've seen you do, I'd have thought you were so muscular it'd be disgusting."

"Nah. Big muscles make it harder to move aside quickly," Matt explained. "And between Nick, Ryan, and Auron, if you couldn't move… you were in a _lot _of pain."

"Oh, so Auron-dono had you keep your muscles small so that you could dodge out of the way of Ryan's rather fast attacks, right?" Sakura asked to clarify.

"You catch on quickly. And I'm going to be so cold when I get out of here…" Matt added absently.

"Oh, stop complaining," Sakura said as she splashed him with a small wave of water. "I'm wearing white, I'm amazed you aren't just staring at my chest!"

"Would you prefer I did?" Matt asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Uh… no, not really. Its just that's what happens whenever I'm wearing a white shirt and it gets wet, or I'm at the pool… or anywhere, now that I think about it," Sakura said with a slight shrug.

"Well, I've got more self control then most guys do. 'Cept maybe Ryan…" Matt said with a shrug of his own.

"Well that's no fun," Sakura muttered under her breath.

"Why do you say that?" Matt asked as he floated around lazily.

"Well… he's still a virgin…" Sakura said quietly.

"Aren't we all? Well, other then Seph and Nick?" Matt asked absently.

"You mean _you're _a virgin, too?" Sakura asked in what sounded like complete shock to Matt.

"That surprising?"

"Yeah! Oh my god, all those girls chasing you back home… what about all those rumors! They _weren't_ real?" Sakura demanded forcefully.

"What rumors…?" Matt asked slowly.

"About you being a player! A mac-daddy, a pimp, however they hell they put it in America!" Sakura practically shouted.

"Oh, those rumors. Yeah, completely false," Matt agreed with a shrug. "With Auron as a guardian, you don't really have time for much."

"Wow… strict?" Sakura questioned as she walked over and started floating next to him.

"Strict would be putting it nicely. Auron's a perfectionist when it comes to combat. Not to mention a very 'hands-on' kind of teacher," Matt added with a slight grimace. "So, Ryan got really good at healing."

"He didn't hold back when he fought you?" Sakura asked in clear shock.

"No, he did. And he still kicked all three of our asses with ease. Believe me, he's a monster with a sword," Matt said firmly.

"Aww, poor baby-chan," Sakura said teasingly as she patted his head like a mom would a child.

"Not really… what he did to you? Looked like he was half asleep. What _Lusniec _did the first time we met, however, is 'bout how Auron is when he's holding back…" that comment put an end to the patting of his head. "Scary thought, isn't it?"

"You let me fight him!" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"Well, we knew who you were. We wouldn't have let you get too hurt for Ryan to have been able to heal you, and Auron wouldn't have let it get that far anyway," Matt said with a sigh. "I miss those days. When there weren't any psychotic, gay angels, or friends possessed by our biggest foe trying to kill us. Back when it was just practice day in and day out."

"You enjoyed it?" Sakura wondered aloud.

"Its better then worrying 'bout how we're going to bring Tidus back, or how we're going to save Andy, or the world for that matter. At least then there wasn't the threat of getting raped by a guy, or the fate of an entire world resting on our shoulders," Matt explained.

"Wow, you really didn't have a life back on earth, did you?"

Matt raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Would you bother to get attached to a world you didn't want to stay in too long?"

"I guess that's true. I mean, Spira's our home now, right?" Sakura asked as she looked up at the stars in the sky dreamily.

"Is it?" Matt asked quietly.

"Well, I've been thinking. I'm pretty popular back home, but this… this is so different. Its weird, but even with the threat of getting killed by a fiend, or an insane god trying to kill us, its kinda…" she stopped and started thinking.

"Peaceful?" Matt asked as much as suggested. "Calming?"

"Yeah, calming," Sakura agreed as she rolled over and put her head on his chest, sinking them both.

"Can I help you?" Matt questioned when he got his head back above the water.

"You really don't understand girls, do you?" Sakura asked quietly.

"No, not really," Matt admitted as Sakura drifted up next to him.

"I didn't think so," She said with a sigh.

"What're you getting at…?" Matt asked slowly.

"Oh, just shut up already," Sakura said as she pulled his face forward and into a long kiss that caused Matt's heart to skip a beat. "I was tired of waiting," She whispered when they finally broke apart.

"Never would've guessed," Matt whispered with more then a little shock written across his features.

888

"Wow, haven't been here in awhile," Ryan said as he glanced around the moon lit road that stretched out for miles in front of the two.

"Man, its so later already. Brother couldn't have just let us stay the night on the Celsius?" Rikku complained as they looked around for the travel agency Rin had on the Highroad. "I mean, it's been dark for an hour! They'll probably land soon anyway!"

"Relax, its not like it's that big a deal, is it? Or do you _not _enjoy spending time with just me?" Ryan asked with a slightly worried face.

"Its not that, really and truly and honestly! I'm just tired, that's all!" Rikku shouted with a worried look on her face.

"Well then, no worries, right?" Ryan asked jokingly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started leading her down the path.

"But I'm still tired!" Rikku groaned as she followed reluctantly.

"Ok then," Ryan said with a shrug of his shoulders, and then picked her up. "This any better?"

"Yes!" Rikku said happily as she wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck. "Now, mush Chocobo, mush!"

"If you say so," Ryan said with a grin as he took off down the path at full speed, jumping over the occasional fiend or machina until the two had reached the travel agency.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Rikku said excitedly as Ryan put her down and took a few deep breathes. "Is it always that much fun?"

"Only when I'm not carrying people," Ryan said with a laugh before walking into the travel agency. "Rammu (Hello)."

The woman at the front desk looked up from the magazine she was reading, saw the two standing there and put her magazine down. "Famlusa du Rin's Dnyjam Ykahlo (Welcome to Rin's Travel Agency.)" She said with a smile. "How can I help you two tonight?"

"With a big, fluffy bed!" Rikku said so enthusiastically that the girl behind the counter couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, you're in luck. We have just that kind of bed, actually." The girl turned and grabbed a key off the key holder behind her, and tossed it to them. "You can pay now or in the morning, your choice."

"Morning. We dunno how long we'll be here," Ryan said as the two started down the hallway. "Wow… same room as last time," He commented as he opened the door and found himself staring at the room he, Matt, and Andy had shared for a night two years ago.

"That's right, I remember Tidus telling me about sparring with you before! Said he beat you really easily," Rikku said teasingly.

"I wouldn't say beat me… nor would I say that it was easy. Then again, I didn't exactly 'win' either…" Ryan admitted with a shrug as he took off the belt holding Shinagami and his reverse blade and hunt it next to the bed, which he then flopped into. "Ahhh… so much nicer then the beds on the Celsius."

"Maybe yours. This is just like mine," Rikku said as she took off her shoes and scarf before curled up next to him.

"Really? Huh, might have to start sneaking into your room then," Ryan said with a grin

"Just don't hurt the stuff animals!" Rikku warned. "Fluffy is particularly dangerous."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ryan said with a laugh, until Rikku rolled on-top of him with a nervous look on her face. "What's wrong?" instead of replying Rikku took off her top, and Ryan's heart skipped more then a few beats

888

"Sir Ryan, Lady Rikku, please we need your help!" Some one shouted while pounding on the door, slowly cutting through the fog of sleep that consumed Ryan. He turned over and buried his face in Rikku's hair, but it didn't do anything, and soon enough he opened his eyes and winced against the bright sun-light filtering through the drawn blinds. "Sir Ryan, Lady Rikku, _please answer me_!" the person at the door shouted again.

"Mmm… what's going on?" Rikku mumbled as she turned over enough to look at Ryan.

"I dunno," Ryan said simply, his heart skipping a beat when he realized Rikku was naked. But before he asked her he remembered the night before, so instead he stood up and pulled on some pants. "Yes?" He asked as he creaked the door open, making sure that it was clear he'd just woken up.

"Sir Ryan, you have to help! A little girl named Calli found a Chocobo last night and she went riding this morning! But she's trapped by a Chocobo Eater!" The lady from the front desk practically shouted as she dragged him out of the room.

"Ok, calm down. Where is she?" Ryan said as he pulled away, repositioning himself so that the woman couldn't see Rikku who was quickly getting dressed.

"She's trapped somewhere on the old Highroad, you have to hurry!" the woman said urgently.

"Let's go!" Rikku said from behind Ryan as she threw him a shirt. "Wouldn't want any other girls starring at you while we're doing our thing out there."

"Of course not," Ryan said with a grin as he pulled the shirt over his head quickly.

"Any idea which section of the old Highroad she's on?" Rikku asked as she handed Ryan his swords.

"Ummm… the man who reported it… he said something about some old ruins. Please, you've got to hurry!"

"Don't worry, we'll save her," Ryan said before the two went sprinting out of the travel agency to the sound of a deep throated roar. "Doesn't sound like we'll be going very far to do it though."

"Stop complaining and start looking!" Rikku ordered sternly. "There's someone's life at stake here!"

"I know, I know. We'll save her, don't worry," Ryan said reassuringly as another roar echoed up from the old road, this one so loud that some of the smaller fiends chasing them turned and ran. "Although that doesn't bode well for us,"

"There she is!" Rikku shouted suddenly, pointing down a nearly vertical slope to the top of a ruined building where a teenage girl a few years younger then the two was lying unconscious next to a terrified Chocobo.

"Oh, well this is going to be easy." Ryan said with a sigh.

"Well, don't just stand there, get down there!" Rikku shouted as she shoved him in the back, sending him falling head over heels towards the giant monster before climbing down herself.

"Rikku! You didn't have to push me down you know!" Ryan shouted when he landed with a loud _thud_, butt first on the hard roof of the ruins. Rikku shouted something back, but another loud roar from the Chocobo Eater trying desperately to reach the Chocobo on the top of the ruin drowned it out, and brought Ryan's attention back to the situation at hand. "Ok you Rancor wanna-be, I see you, you can shut up already!"

"Stop taunting it and get _rid _of it!" Rikku shouted as she dropped the last seven feet and landed gently on the top of the ruins.

"Yes ma'am!" Ryan said with a grin as he reached for Wind Cutter, only to remember when his hand grasped the hilt of his new sword that he no longer had it. 'Well… a reverse-blade won't do much good against this thing…' he decided as he moved his hand up a little higher and grasped the hilt of Shinagami. Even as he held the sword the area around him seemed to get darker, and a wave of hatred washed over him, and he got the impression that the short sword held more then one deadly secret.

"Ryan… what're you doing?" Rikku asked quietly, breaking him out of his almost trance like state. He turned to ask her what she meant, but stopped when he saw the purple smoke pushing Shinagami farther and farther out of its sheath regardless of how hard he tried to push it back in.

"This could be bad," He practically growled as he struggled to keep the sword sheathed. "_Fine _then, come out!" he shouted as he drew the short sword, freeing a black-light that actually darkened the area around him.

"Ryan, what are you doing!" Rikku shouted, uncertainty clear in her voice.

"I have no idea," Ryan admitted as something warm started to drip down his back. He knew what it was without looking. The spade Lusniec had carved into his back, the one Dnorith had been so worried about, was bleeding again. The roar of the Chocobo Eater helped him push it out of his mind, and the sight of the little girl starting to wake up only helped push it away.

888

"Paine, look! It's a pair of Leblanc's goons," Yuna whispered as the two watched a pair of Leblanc's goons struggle to make any headway against the hordes of monkeys that had overrun Zanarkand in the days since Cid's departure. "What do you think?"

"Hurt time," Paine replied as she stood up and started towards the two goons with a hand on her sword, only to have Yuna pull her back by her arm.

"Don't forget, we can't ruin the girl's outfit, ok?" Paine rolled her eyes, but the former High Summoner gave her a look that got a nod from her. "Good, let's go then." Paine nodded and started sprinting across the unsteady terrain without a sound or without slowing down, and not for the first time Yuna wondered what Paine had done before joining up with the Gullwings. The gothic sword-woman had no problem taking down fiends, didn't back down from gods, and had a dizzying amount of talents, very few of which she ever showed.

The sound of Paine's sword being drawn alerted the goons at the last second, but it didn't do them any good. The flat of Paine's sword arced up and slammed into the face of the first goon, dropping him with a loud _crack_. The girl to Paine's right kicked out at her, but Paine was halfway through a spin that put her well out of harms way. When it ended she was standing back-to-back with goon, her sword resting on her shoulder so that its blade was hovering a hair's breath away from the goon neck.

"Be a good girl and give us your outfit," Paine said menacingly as Yuna walked up in slight awe. "Or you'll regret it." The gothic sword-women emphasized the point by moving the blade against the goon's throat.

"The boss is going to give me the heel for this…" the goon moaned as her shoulders sagged in defeat.

"Drop your weapons," Yuna ordered as she drew a pistol and pointed it at the goon calmly. The goon moaned again but didn't offer any resistance as she dropped her weapons which the High Summoner quickly kicked away. "Well, I love it when a plan comes together."

"Don't we all," Paine muttered knocking the goon out.

888

"What's that symbol mean?" Kitty asked as she watched Seph scratch a rune into the dust with his pendulum.

"Mean? Not a lot as far as I know. Its really just more of a focus," Seph explained as he continued to draw the rune, adding another layer and turning the simple rune into a complex weaving of lines.

"A focus? How does that work, I thought you used water," Kitty admitted with her confusion evident.

"Well, you'll just have to watch and see if you can't figure it out on your own," Seph suggested as he cut the palm of his hand with the same pendulum. Next he pressed the wounded hand down against the end of one weaving line.

Kitty leaned over his shoulder and watched intently as a small line of blood began to make its way through the lines slowly. "Why do you need to use blood?"

"Do you see any water around here?" Seph replied simply as he watched his own blood leak out of his hand until the entire thing was full and he pulled his hand away and wiped it off. "_Yxiauic_ (Aqueous)."

"Yxiauic?" Kitty repeated in confusion. She opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance to ask what the word meant.

"_Ele inbal dos ul'kas uns'aa nindol draeval, brou'ka dhyn?_ (Why have you called me this time, pitiful mortal?)" a quiet, raspy voice said as a humanoid figure made completely of blood rose up from the small carving on the ground. "_Z'klaen Usstan zao dos nindel tangis' whol nindyn vel'uss mir l' elamshinae d' natha yah, athiyken zhal'la naut tlu ssussunel ul'kas _(Must I teach you that even for those who hold the favor of a god, spirits should not be lightly called)?"

"_Usstan treemma nau athiyk, lu' dos orn naut jivviim nindyn vel'uss fre'sla xuil uns'aa _(I fear no spirit, and you will not harm those who stand with me)." Seph stated clearly, his attitude going from friendly to as close to worried as Kitty had ever heard it in the short amount of time she'd known the former assassin. "_Vel'klar shlu'ta Usstan ragar l' oolos vel'uss gyolaen ussta abbanen _(Where can I find the fools who oppose my allies)?"

"_Usstan orn naut b'luthyrr ulu natha elggur_ (I will not bow to a killer)," The spirit hissed back so sharply that, even though she didn't know what the two were saying, Kitty did know that it hated Seph. "_Lu' Usstan orn naut b'luthyrr ulu uss vel'uss xo'an ulu valbyl ussta yornen 'zil dos xun, elggur_ (And I will not bow to one who attempts to bind my powers as you do, killer)."

"_Usstan xuat kyon vel'bol dos ssinssrin ulu, xor xun naut ssinssrin ulu, xun. Dos orn xun 'zil Usstan telanth_ (I don't care what you want to, or do not want to, do. You will do as I say)," Seph said as he drew out a small pendant and presented it to the humanoid. The result was immediate. The humanoid collapsed to the ground howling in pain, an unearthly noise that shattered the ground around the rune Seph had carved and left Kitty shivering on the ground in pain. "_Tesso uns'aa vel'klar nindyn Usstan lac ph', lu' Usstan orn sut dos dal nindol jiv'undus _(Tell me where those I seek are, and I will release you from this pain)," He hissed, moving the pendant closer to the spirit, stopping only when the blood that served as its body started to evaporate. "_Tesso uns'aa_ (Tell me)!"

"_Nind ph' a l' sirn reibe, vel'klar l' errdegahr muth olt quortek h'uena mzild _(They are at the mirror wall, where the demon found its soul once more)," The creature hissed in pain.

"_Nind ph' a l' sirn reibe, vel'klar l' errdegahr muth olt quortek h'uena mzild Sirn reibe? Vel'bol sirn reibe, udos inbal naubol saph _(They are at the mirror wall, where the demon found its soul once more)?" Seph demanded as he took the symbol away enough to stop the blood from evaporating, although the creature still moaned gently.

"_Wun dosst xanalress ol orn'la tlu ul'kas l' _Den of Woes_, naut l' sirn reibe, drill ulu udossa ol lamin xuil l' ssussun d' trelao flasmix, _(In your language it would be called the Den of Woes, not the mirror wall, but to us it shines with the light of divine energy, burning us. as for the demon, I know not which, its powers are far beyond mind, killer. You would be wise not to anger it)." The spirit practically shouted before a sliver of water shot through it, causing it to splatter to the ground in a rain of blood.

"What demon could be that powerful…?" Seph wondered aloud. He'd called on the spirits of the planes before, and no matter who he was trying to find they'd been able to tell him exactly where it was, any anything else he'd wanted to know. For something to be powerful enough to be beyond their ability to see was a clear sign that something powerful was moving in the shadows, something he never wanted to met but had the oddest feeling he was going to.

"Seph, what was that thing? What where you talking about, and why were you speaking that language, its forbidden!" Kitty hissed, the hairs on the back of her neck rising with anger.

"Forbidden… what? It's not _forbidden_, its just _forgotten_," Seph corrected absently.

Kitty hissed again, much louder this time, and spun him around by the shoulder. "No, it's _forbidden_!" Kitty hissed dangerously. "You don't know what spoke that language, and I assure you that these spirits you're talking to aren't what they seem to be Seph. Please, _stop doing it_!"

"I've never had a problem with it before. They're just spirits, I'm a god. Don't worry," Seph said absently. "And if you _have _to worry, worry about this demon they're talking about."

"A demon that is beyond their power is something that even a god should fear Seph. Even _you _must know that much," Kitty hissed.

"Look, I do _not _need this attitude right now, ok?" Seph shot back with an uncharacteristic amount of anger in his voice.

"_Myr olol eir ti_ (Stop yelling at me)!" Kitty shouted, switching to her own tongue out of sheer frustration.

"_Sael myr saelol ti shar sai pai_ (Then stop telling me what to do)!" Seph shot back as he started walking deeper into Mushroom Rock Road.

"What did you just say…?" Kitty asked in a trembling voice.

"I said '_sael myr saelol ti shar sai pai_' if I'm not mistaken," Seph said slowly.

"How… how do you know that language?" Kitty asked forcefully.

"What do you mean?" Seph questioned as he turned to face her slowly. "You… actually _understood _that?"

"Yeah… it's the Lydc's native language…" Kitty said in shock. "How do you know it?"

"It was passed down in my family for generations," Seph said with a shrug. "Of course, when I die, since I've got no kids, that'll end."

"How could it have been passed down in your family? They'd have to-"

"Have had contact with a Lydc in the past?" Seph finished up for her. "Yeah, well, not all of your people thought that you should isolate yourselves from the rest of Spira after your battle with the Oloth," Seph said as he started to walk again.

"You know the Oloth?" Kitty asked in disbelief.

"What do you think I just summoned? How do you think the Lydc beat the Oloth, when they were outnumbered, under-trained, ill-equipped, and without magic?" Seph questioned.

"What are you talking about? The Lydc were one of the first species to develop magic," Kitty stated firmly.

"Yes, one of the first _races_, to develop it. But certainly not the first race, nor were they the first ones. The Oloth were as good with magic back then, as humans are now," Seph explained. "The Lydc were losing the war, so did the only thing they could do. A group went to what is now Bevelle and asked the humans living there to help them. The humans saw it as a way to test their magic against a race that could also wield magic, so thousands of families joined the Lydc in their war. Out of those thousands of families, two survived."

"Two?" Kitty asked. "Only two out of thousands?"

"Yeah, two. One family used a form of magic to summon fiends, and recently departed souls of the dead, and bound them to their will," Seph said with a slight grin.

"Just like Rae…" Kitty whispered.

"Yeah, Rae's family is one of them. The other… they were good at binding magic, and divinations using water. Sometimes they'd even summon up souls to find out what they wanted to know…"

"Seph… _you're _from that family, aren't you?" Kitty asked quietly.

"Was," Seph admitted with a sigh. "They disowned me when I was just a little kid though."

"Why?" Kitty asked tentatively.

"Cause I found proof…" Seph said sadly. "Proof that the binding spell holding back the Oloth was going to end in a few years. And they didn't want to deal with the shame that would come with what they saw as a failure."

"What? But… you mean… I have to tell my people!" Kitty said, panic taking control of her train of thought.

"Relax, we've still got years to go before that happens, Kitty. Besides, if we don't stop this other demon… the Oloth will be the last of your people's worries," Seph said gravely. "The best thing you can do for them now is help us stop Yevon and Lusniec." He stopped and turned just enough to face her. "Do that, and I swear that I'll help you save your people when the Oloth return."

In that instant, even as the brief look of compassion passed so quickly that Kitty wasn't sure that it'd ever been there at all, she understood why Rae cared so much for an assassin.

888

"Ryu Tsui Sen!" Callie blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She had to be seeing things, no human could take on a Chocobo Eater alone.

"Hey, are you ok?" Rikku asked gently from behind the younger girl.

"Uh… yeah, I think so," Callie said as she hurried away from the edge of the ruin. "Who _is _that?"

"Did you ever meet High Summoner Yuna's group two years ago?" Rikku asked as Ryan ducked under a swing from the Chocobo Eater.

"Yeah, once. Why?" Rikku's smile only confused Callie more.

"You know those three guardians that everyone was impersonating? Matt, Andy, and Ryan?" Callie nodded and Rikku pointed towards the death match going on in front of them. "Well, that's Ryan."

"That's sir Ryan?" Callie asked in shock.

"Yeah. We were staying at the Travel Agency nearby. The woman at the front desk woke us up when she found out you were in trouble," Rikku explained. "Don't worry, though. A Chocobo Eater may be strong, but it's too slow to hit Ryan."

Given the amount of blood the Chocobo Eater was loosing, Callie didn't doubt that.

888

Ryan didn't like the way the fight was going. He was winning, he knew that much, but there was something about Shinagami that didn't feel right in the least. It was like it didn't care about winning, only about killing. The desire to kill that it was giving off was almost overpowering.

He decided that he should end it quickly. He ducked under another swing from the Chocobo Eater, and the wounded creature overbalanced and nearly fell there. Without thinking Ryan jumped onto its back and drove Shinagami into the base of the fiend's skull. The Chocobo Eater let out a roar of pain before falling to the ground.

No pyreflies or blood left the wound. That couldn't be a good sign. 'What the hell _is _this sword?' Ryan wondered in horror as he pulled Shinagami out of the wound, wiped it off and sheathed it. "Rikku, are you and Callie ok?"

"She's a little freaked, but otherwise she's ok!" Rikku called back cheerfully. "And so's the Chocobo!"

"Well then, what say we get out of here?" Ryan called back as he jumped onto the ruin's roof. "And Callie? No more riding Chocobos down here, ok?"

"Sure thing…" Callie said with a small smile.

* * *

well, i hope you all enjoyed! read and review! take care, and until next time, try not to die! 


	13. Preparations Complete

OK PEOPLE LET'S HEAR IT FOR Da KeR MysTeRr! if not for her you... wouldn't be reading this chapter! so, in payment, all of you! go read Operatin: Pay Back and Elemental Wars! NOW! AND REVIEW IT TOO DAMN IT!

* * *

Preparations Complete 

"Well, here we are. The Den of freakin' Woe," Seph said with a sigh as he and Kitty stopped in front of the place the demon had mentioned.

"I still don't think that this is a good idea…"

Seph rolled his eyes. "You worry _way _too much Kitty. What's the worst that could happen while I'm here?"

Kitty raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him. "Well, given what I've seen you do today a lot of things." This time Seph raised his eyebrow as he glanced at Kitty. "Seph, you got the information from a freakin' _demonic source_! Hello, does anything sound wrong about that at all!"

"Not really…"

"You're insane," Kitty muttered with a sad shake of her head. "Let's just get this over with."

"Glad we see things the same way," Seph said with a roll of his eyes.

"We're gonna die…" Kitty restated as Seph started walking towards the Den of Woe.

"We aren't gonna die, so just rel-" his sentence was cut off by a scream of pain as his hand grazed the entrance and a blast of holy energy sent him flying over Kitty's head.

"Seph? You ok? Still alive?" Kitty asked as she examined him as best she could from where she was, afraid to go any closer.

"_Exploding Water Dragon_!" Seph shouted, thrusting his hand towards the wall. Immediately a giant dragon made purely of water erupted out of seemingly thin air, and wrapped around Kitty. It slammed into the entrance of the Den of Woe with titanic power, but exploded as a small wall of holy energy appeared where it landed, and then expanded to absorb the entire attack.

"What on Spira is _that_?" Seph shook his head as much to answer Kitty's question as in disbelief. Nothing had ever endured that attack without taking a great deal of damage. But the wall was sitting there, glowing with holy energy like one of his parents treasured sealing statues, without a scratch on it. "Seph, can you hear me?"

"Somewhere I'm not allowed to go," was all Seph could offer as he stood up and dusted himself off. "Much as I hate to admit it, we're just going to have to wait until the other gods are here too."

"What? You're giving up?" Kitty asked in shock. "I thought you wanted to open that thing up!"

"I thought you were against it since we got the information from a demon," Seph replied as he ripped a piece of his cloak off and wrapped up his offended hand.

"Well, I am, but now I'm curious! I mean, that's holy energy right? Doesn't that mean that one of you should be able to get in there?"

"Yeah, but not me." Seph winced as ice-cold water engulfed his bandaged hand for a few seconds. "Now come on, I'd like to finish this while I still have a working hand."

"Oh, fine." Kitty pouted before something rolled against her foot. "Hey… it's a sphere. Weren't Rikku, and Yuna, and Paine looking for these things?"

"So that's where it was! Sorry for the trouble. I appreciate yous finding it for us, though," Ormi said as he, Logos, and a pair of their goons walked out into the clearing. Seph raised an eyebrow before glancing at the sphere Kitty was absently examining, and shaking his head.

"Please, we found it and we're keeping it. End of story," the assassin said as he turned to leave.

"What? You're not giving it back?" Ormi asked with shock clearly written across his face.

"Nope," Kitty said with a big grin as she slipped the sphere into her fanny pack.

"The nerve!" Ormi shouted.

"What can you expect from an arrogant killer?" Logos questioned as he readied his pistols.

"These meanies won't give back the sphere!" Ormi stated, causing his partner's eye to twitch in annoyance.

"So we take it back!" Logos shouted at him. Ormi gave him a confused stare for a second before a big grin spread across his face. "And on that note… take it back!"

"You'll need more then three to take it back you know," Seph stated calmly as he dropped three pendulums out of his sleeve.

"So cocky for a common assassin!" Logos shot back as he opened fire on the two. Three bullets sailed towards the assassin who rolled his eyes and raised his water shield. The bullets connected with a sizzling sound that gave Seph just enough warning to move his head out of the way as a trio of bullets laced with lightning flashed past him, but even his reflex couldn't save him completely. The last one nicked him as it passed, sending agonizing waves of electricity racing about his body as he collapsed to the ground. "Did you think we wouldn't come prepared for you?"

"Give us the sphere, girly," Ormi ordered forcefully as he took a menacing step towards Kitty.

"Or you'll be next, little girl." Logos reloaded his gun to accentuate his point.

"What's wrong with you two, picking on a helpless girl like me?" Kitty shouted as she slipped her hands behind her back and extended her nails. "Don't have the guts to face Seph without your special bullets?"

"Has he the courage to face us without his water?" Logos asked he leveled his revolver at Kitty. "Now. Give us the sphere."

"Sorry," Kitty said with a sweet smile as she pounced forward with her claws extended. Just as she was about to land on Logos, Ormi stepped in the way with his shield raised. Kitty landed with enough force to knock the over-weight man to the ground, but before Logos could bring his gun around to get a shot off she'd jumped over the head of the goon accompanying the two, knocking her out with a quick chop to the back of the neck.

"Very impressive, little girl. Very impressive indeed. Why not come and work for us?" Logos suggested as the two started to circle each other slowly. "You'd be a great asset to our organization."

"Your legs make a great asset to your body, but you'll lose them soon if you don't leave now," Kitty warned as Ormi sat up with a moan.

"You'll never win. Give up," Logos ordered.

"Never was one for giving up. Never understood the point in it," Kitty said before tossing her shield into Logos with enough force to knock the lanky man to the ground with a thud.

"That weren't very nice!" Ormi shouted as he stood up and turned to face Kitty. "Yous is gonna pay fer that!"

"Less talk, more fight!" Kitty shouted as she launched herself onto Ormi's shield feet first with so much force that the heavy shield cracked. With a grunt Ormi pushed back, sending the far lighter Lydc flipping backwards several feet.

"Yous gonna pay for hittin' Logos!" Ormi roared before charging forward in a berserk frenzy while Logos slowly got himself off the ground.

'Oh, this one could get ugly.' Kitty thought with a sigh as she positioned Ormi between herself and Logos. Just as she finished the enraged obese man hurled his shield at her, forcing her to duck to avoid being decapitated. When she saw the giant shadow over her she didn't bother to look up. She rolled backwards, narrowly evading Ormi's belly flop, which would have almost certainly ended the fight.

"Ormi, stop playing around and finish her!" Logos ordered as he brushed some dust off of his coat.

"Logos! Yous is ok!" Ormi shouted gleefully as he practically hopped up and ran over to his friend.

"Of course I'm ok you twit. It will take more then some _girl_ throwing another _girl _on me to hurt me," Logos stated with contempt.

"Well, why don't I give it another try then?" Kitty suggested with a smirk, her cat-like eyes narrowing to the point where the slits where almost non-existent.

"Yes, well. How about not?" Logos countered as before opening fire on the Lydc.

To Kitty the world slowed down. Each bullet's speed slowed to practically a crawl, making dodging them a simple matter for any Lydc. She twisted and turned and rolled, never stopping her motion as the bullets crawled past her. She knew from the faces of the two men that they hadn't expected anything remotely close to what was happening.

When Logos started to drop one of his guns Kitty knew that she'd won. She pressed her advantage, slashing out at the helpless man who barely had time to raise his remaining gun in a pitiful, makeshift defense against her claws. Even as Ormi raised his arm to attack her she'd begun her flip over Logos, raking both her claws down his back as she landed behind him.

888

Seph shuddered as his consciousness returned slowly. His entire body ached all over, thanks in no small part to Logos' special bullets. Wondering what was in them he opened his eyes in time to see none other then Logos go sprinting by with a terrified Ormi close behind.

"What the hell?" He wondered aloud as he looked around and found a panting, unhurt Kitty grinning proudly back at him. "You stopped them?" The Lydc only nodded. "Wow… not bad. You gonna be ok?" Again the Lydc simply nodded. "Ok, not in the talking mood. Got it," Seph stated as he glanced over at the unconscious goon that had been with Ormi and Logos. "Ya did good, I'll give you that."

"I try," Kitty replied with a slight chuckle. "How much further until we get picked up?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I don't usually go to the Moonflow, but I imagine it's still a little ways off. Why?" Seph asked, but instead of an answer he heard a thud. "Kitty, you ok?" He questioned uncertainly as he turned around and saw Kitty had collapsed.

"I'll… be fine," The Lydc's voice was barely a whisper and even the gentle breeze threatened to drowned it out. "Just focused a little… too much. Need… to sleep."

'Oh, this is wonderful,' Seph thought as Kitty slipped into unconsciousness. 'Just freakin' wonderful.'

888

Sakura watched Matt with amusement as he struggled in vain to keep himself from shivering. Even though Sakura loved hot springs she had to wonder whether or not going into one on a mountain like Gagazet without a change of clothes was a good idea. She would be fine, but there was a very real chance, she realized now, that Matt would be sick for weeks if they didn't get somewhere warm soon.

"You look sick. Why not lay down awhile, and let that kill you so we don't have to?" Logos questioned as he and Ormi walked around a corner and barred the path down the mountain.

"Yeah, I look sick. And I feel worse then I look, so move or I'll deep fry you, got it?" Matt warned as Logos calmly loaded his guns.

"I think you'll find that we've come a rather long way since our last encounter here," Logos stated as he finished loading his guns. "So, if you won't let the cold kill you, we'll do it ourselves!"

"Shut the hell up and get out of the way!" Matt yelled as a bolt of lightning shot towards the two goons, only to bounce of Ormi's shield and nearly take Sakura's head off. "Well… that's certainly different."

"You didn't think we'd never adapt to fighting you gods, did you?" Logos asked concededly. "We've equipped ourselves with special weapons, as your assassin friend found out just yesterday."

"What the hell did you do to Seph-san and Kitty-chan?" Sakura demanded.

"You'd be better advised to worry about yourselves at the moment!" Logos shouted as he fired off a few shots at the girl who dodged to the right and watched in horror as the wall of solid ice behind her began to melt away around the bullet.

"Geez… what the hell is he shooting?" Matt wondered aloud as he quickly turned his attention back to Logos who was taking aim at him this time. "Oh, hell no. You are _not _shooting me with one of those bullets!" He flicked his finger and a bolt of lightning flashed out and met the bullet head on, only to watch in horror as the lightning disappeared as they disappeared on contact with the bullets.

"Ummm… I think it's time to run, how 'bout you?" Sakura questioned quietly.

"Yeah, 'fraid so," Matt agreed as he held out a hand and formed a Chidori. "Better hold onto our prizes back there. This is about to get a little dangerous!"

"Ormi!" The fat man nodded, stepped in front of his lanky companion, and raised his shield to meet the god's attack. Matt had a different idea though. Instead of attacking with his Chidori he jumped over Ormi, landed on Logos' face, and with another push launched himself at the wall. Ice and rock shattered as first one Chidori, then another slammed into the wall with the power of an enraged god. "What are you doing? Stop that this instant!" Logos ordered as he and Ormi prepared to attack Matt's back.

"Don't forget about me!" Sakura shouted as kicked Logos in the back of the head, knocking him face first into Ormi's shield. "Fatty!"

"You hurt Logos! I'll hurt you!" Ormi shouted as he prepared to charge Sakura, only to get shoved out of the way by Matt, who grabbed Sakura and pulled her against the wall. "Hey, what gives? Yous not fightin'?"

"No, because you're going bye-bye!" Matt yelled, despite the lack of distance between the two.

"Matt… what're you doing?" Sakura questioned, even though the devilish grin spreading across Matt's face made her wonder if she really wanted to know.

"Well, an avalanche worked well _before _so I figured th-" The rest of Matt's sentence was cut off as a wave of snow descended over the small hole Matt had pounded into the mountain.

'So that was his plan all along. Not bad,' Sakura admitted to herself as she closed her eyes and leaned against his shoulder to wait out the avalanche.

888

Kimahri shook his head as he surveyed the avalanche's work. He had a feeling that one of his friends was responsible for it, but why two gods would need to create an avalanche? He didn't like the way things looked. It'd take him and his fellow Ronso weeks to find them under all the snow, and he couldn't spend much time away from the tribe with Garik on the warpath again.

Kimahri was about turn and go back to his village for the night when a giant bolt of lightning tore through the snow with ease. "Kimahri is glad friends are ok," The blue warrior stated as both Matt and Sakura walked out of the hole the lightning had left in the snow.

"Good to see you too, 'Lil' Boy Blue," Matt agreed through chattering teeth. "Think we could… uhhh, stay the night at your village?"

Kimahri nodded, knowing just how badly Matt must need some place warm. The fact that Sakura didn't seem bothered by the cold was something to discuss later, though Kimahri suspected it was due in large part to the fact that she was the Ice goddess.

888

"Ryan, when did this scar get wings?" Rikku asked as she examined his back in the privacy of their room at the travel agency.

"Wings? It has wings now?" Ryan asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, its actually pretty cool looking to be honest," Rikku said as she traced the lines in Ryan's back. "But it's not infected, as far as I can tell. In fact, it looks like it's as old as your other scars back here."

"Really? That's odd, given the one is two years old." Rikku shrugged before handing him his cleaned shirt. "Wonder what it means."

"Hopefully nothing bad," Rikku stated.

"Well, I doubt my luck will allow for anything else," Ryan said with a grim chuckle as he threw his shirt on. "But that's life for ya."

"Yeppers!" Rikku agreed with a laugh as Baby jumped off the chair he'd been sleeping on all day, and onto Rikku's head. "But I do have on question… where'd you get the spade scar? It isn't exactly common to fight an enemy with a spade shaped weapon as far as I know." Ryan let out a sigh and Rikku raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"That spade-shaped scar… I got it from Lusniec," Ryan admitted. "And not in a fight, either. I got it in a dream, and I know that sounds insane but it's the truth!" he added quickly when Rikku turned around and looked at him like he was insane.

"Ok… odd, but let's say it was true. What happened in the dream that you got a spade-shaped scar?" Rikku prompted with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"Ummmm… I fought Lusniec… lost… and then he carved it into my back," Ryan said as he recalled what he could about the dream.

"That's it? He just carved that into your back? He didn't rape you or anything?" Rikku pushed.

"I'd like to think that's it… damn it why'd you have to go and bring that up?" Ryan asked before falling onto the bed in defeat.

"Sorry, but it's possible you know…" Rikku said quietly.

"That's why it's so scary!" Ryan replied before sitting up with a shiver. "Oh man, now I'm going to be worrying about that until I get the chance to ask him in person!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to make you worry about it, honest!" Rikku stated insistently.

"I know, I know, but it's still a creepy thought."

"So stop thinking about it!" Rikku suggested. "You know, do one of those clear your mind things! What'd'ya call'em… meditation exercises or something?"

"I was never very good at clearing my mind…" Ryan said with a defeated sigh as he closed his eyes.

"Oh really? Me neither," Rikku said with a sheepish grin.

"Really? I _never_ would've guessed that one," Ryan said playfully.

"Oh, just shut up and meditate until the others get her to pick us up, ok?" Ryan nodded and Rikku kissed him on the cheek before leaving the room and heading outside. She looked around for something to do until Brother arrived and picked the two of them up.

When Baby jumped off her head and landed on the ground behind her with a Mohawk running down his back she wished she were bored again. "Ah, the whelp's girlfriend," a vaguely familiar voice stated with obvious disgust as Rikku turned around.

"Who are you?" She questioned the black-cloaked man standing next to the window to the room she was staying in over Baby's hisses.

"Someone who wants to deprive Lusniec of all pleasure in life, and since he looks forward to killing of his successors with glee, I'm going to do it for him," The black-cloaked man explained as if it should have been obvious. "And I assure you, little girl, you _can't _stop me."

"Well you don't think I'm just going to sit here and let you kill my boyfriend do you?" Rikku questioned as she drew her daggers. The cloaked figure sighed and turned to face her with an amused chuckle and Rikku suddenly realized that this cloaked assassin could be Yevon himself and she wouldn't know.

"You've got a lot of guts girl, I'll give you that. Not many brains to back'em up, but a lot of guts none the less." Without another word the assassin charged, kicking Baby to the side as he did, and a pair of gray, shadowy daggers that looked startlingly like Rikku's appeared in his hands.

He slashed out with one, and Rikku turned it aside easily, and countered with a slash of her own that the assassin turned aside with ease. Rikku jumped back, but the man jumped with her, mirroring her jump flawlessly. They landed at the same time and Rikku slashed at him again, only to have her attack turned away effortlessly and countered so flawlessly that Rikku couldn't do anything but stumble backwards enough to keep the slash from gutting her open. The assassin didn't continue his attack as she recovered though, just sat their with his hands at his sides waiting for her to charge again.

'It's like he knows exactly what I'm going to do.' Rikku thought as brought her one free hand up in as much a defense as possible. 'If that's true there's no way I can beat him. What am I gonna do?'

"Give up and you can still walk away. I'm only here for your boyfriend," The assassin stated in a bored tone.

"Not a chance!" Rikku growled through gritted teeth.

"Why are you so loyal to him? He'll only end up betraying you in the end," The assassin stated firmly.

"No way! Ryan and me were apart for two years and he didn't do anything, why would he betray me?" Rikku demanded.

"Because his job will _always _come before you. _Always_. And in the end his job will kill you, or it will kill him, or it will kill you both. Because he couldn't stop 'protecting' people who don't even need it!" The assassin growled.

"No it won't! Ryan's come so close to dying on us so many times that I can't count them all on my hands, but he comes back. Every time he comes back, no matter what. And he always will!" Rikku practically shouted, wondering if Ryan was deaf or asleep. How could he not hear what was going on?

"You're blind. You preach about something you don't know or understand. I have nothing more to say to you except," The assassin readied his daggers once again, "time for you to die!"

Rikku felt her blood run cold as the assassin charged in. Without stopping he dropped into a slid, and knocked her feet under as he passed her. By the time Rikku had hit the ground she had to roll out of the way of the assassin's blade as it came down to lodge itself in her face. She had barely managed to get to her feet before they were knocked out from under her again. And again she had to roll frantically to one side to avoid having her face impaled by the assassin's dagger, only this time her roll was stopped short by his other dagger.

She was trapped, and she knew it. To make matters worse she'd lost so much blood that her vision was starting to get dark and blurry. As it worsened she started to see purple lights rising up from behind the assassin, and even heard several deep growls as well before passing out.

888

Ryan's eyes shot open so fast that it hurt when an overwhelming hatred washed over him, one so powerful that it felt almost tangible. The source had to be close, and he glanced over at Shinagami suspiciously, but although the sword was practically trembling it wasn't giving off any of the hatred.

Although to its credit, it's bloodlust was almost as powerful. Even so, Ryan strapped the belt on, getting the oddest feeling that whatever was going on was too close for comfort. He glanced around the room one last time, feeling like he was missing something.

Rikku. She wasn't there. Ryan let out a moan as another wave of hatred washed over him, this one coming from a specific direction.

The hatred was coming from the other side of the wall. Ryan shook his head in disbelief before jumping out the window to find an unconscious Rikku laying on the ground with a dagger embedded into the ground on either side of her head, a guy standing over her her, and a very pissed off Baby outlined in a deep purple light, and giving off all the hatred Ryan was feeling.

"What the _hell _is going on here?" Ryan demanded, a hand already resting on his swords as the assassin turned to face him with a sneer.

"You got lucky this time, whelp, but next time you'll end up like your girlfriend here. So don't let Lusniec kill you first, got that?" The assassin questioned before disappearing into the ground. Ryan shook his head in disbelief, not positive that he believed what he'd just seen until he saw Baby sitting next to Rikku's head and whimpering softly.

Ryan noticed the pool of blood on the ground for the first time, and practically slapped himself in the face mentally. He had more important things to worry about then whether the assassin was gone. With that thought he walked over, placed a hand on Rikku's stomach, and began to cast healing spells.

888

Sakura was surprised to see how empty the Ronso village was. "Younger Ronso hold great anger against Guado. Garik go to top of mountain to tell mountain battle plan, many Ronso youth go with."

"So you're saying they're going to start a war against the Guado?" Matt asked simply. Kimahri nodded and Matt ran a hand through his hair. "That's insane."

"So what are you going to do?" Sakura questioned the Ronso elder.

"Garik hear voice of mountain. Garik change mind. Kimahri hope," Their friend explained.

"But what if he doesn't?" Sakura questioned.

"Kimahri stop Ronso youth," Kimahri responded simply.

"That's a lot of Ronso, Kimahri," Matt warned.

"Elder Kimahri have no choice."

"Sure you do," Sakura said energetically. "Matt's a legendary guardian, right? If he tells them to stop then odds are they'll stop, right?" she reasoned.

"Might work. And it'd save lil boy blue a lot of trouble," Matt agreed. "What do you say, blue?"

"If Matt go, Kimahri think Garik listen. Maybe. If not, Kimahri deal with Garik," Kimahri agreed.

"Looks like you're staying in those wet clothes a little while longer," Sakura teased Matt with a grin.

"No, I don't think so," Matt countered as he stepped away from the group.

"What are you doing?" Sakura asked as she turned and watched him walk away from them. "Matt?"

"Might want to stand back.," Matt warned just before a bolt of lightning slammed into him.

"Well, I suppose that's one way to dry off," Sakura admitted to herself.

"Ok, now, let's get going shall we?" Matt asked with a grin.

"Well, if you insist. Take care, Kimahri-sama! We'll be back," Sakura said with a sigh as she followed Matt back up the slopes of the Ronso's sacred mountain. It didn't take long for the two to find the Ronso youth, all of whom left large, easy to follow foot prints in the fresh snow.

"Garik! We're here to talk to you, so get your blue furred but out here right now!" Matt shouted when they reached the area where dozens of Ronso youth were gathered.

"You not speak to Garik like that. We crush you too if you do," One of the Ronso warned.

"Did I call out your name?" Matt asked the Ronso who, taken back by the force of his voice, only shook his head. "Then shut up, before you get yourself hurt."

"You insult me? A great Ronso warrior?" The Ronso roared, presenting his spear challengingly.

"You dare challenge me, a legendary guardian?" Matt's calm, quiet, ice-cold reply silenced even the muttering Ronso that he wasn't talking to.

"Small human not legendary guardian," the Ronso replied slowly.

"Sure I am. Two years ago I helped High Summoner Yuna kill Sin," Matt replied as he turned to face the Ronso completely. "Then I had to leave, to find Sakura, and now I'm back to make sure the calm I worked so _fucking hard for _isn't shattered by some half-witted, war-mongering Ronso!"

"I crush you for insulting Garik!" The Ronso roared as he charged forward. Matt frowned slightly as he watched the charge with a bored eye. He'd hoped that the Ronso would come to his senses when faced with the fact that he was in fact a legendary guardian, but the Ronso's pride had gotten in the way.

Well, if they needed proof of his fighting abilities, he'd be more then happy to give them one. As the Ronso charged Matt grabbed the tip of the spear right behind the head and shoved it to the side. The Ronso, too committed to his attack to change course, ended his journey abruptly when his face met Matt's fist. "Anyone else doubt that I'm a legendary guardian?"

"What your name?" One of the Ronso youth asked with a hint of awe in his voice.

"Matt, as far as this world goes," Matt stated loudly, not exactly sure where the Ronso who'd asked the question was.

"Guardian Matt, why do you stand in Ronso path?"

"I already told you, I worked too hard to help Yuna bring down Sin and bring the eternal calm to let some hot headed Ronso youth ruin it!" Matt said, drawing Off-hand and Lighting Edge to emphasize his point. "Now, the next Ronso to speak better be Garik, so go get him!" The Ronso looked at each other nervously as Matt waited patiently, and eventually they parted and revealed an arch made of stone with three Ronso starring at him from beyond.

"Guardian Matt, you stand in the path of Ronso. Now you learn true wrath of Ronso youth!" Garik shouted from where he was.

"Oh, now _you're _going to fight me?" Matt asked with mock surprise as he hefted Lighting Edge on one shoulder and Off-hand on the other. "Fine then, but if you lose you have to stop this war-mongering, got it?"

"Garik not fall! Garik agree to your request!" Garik roared loudly, drawing a cheer from all the Ronso around.

"Well then, let's get this over with," Matt suggested as he started sprinting up the short path to Garik.

"Men," Sakura muttered to herself as she followed Matt up the path.

"Ok Sakura, you ready?" Matt asked quietly as they reached the archway.

"Ready? Ready for what? Matt, what are you doing?" Sakura asked nervously.

"To fight Garik. Ronso are honorable, and losing to a legendary guardian isn't that surprising," Matt explained. "It's not likely to make them think that they might not be strong enough to fight the Guado. But if someone that isn't famous beats their leader…"

Sakura moaned. "I hate you, you know that?" she asked jokingly.

"Guardian Matt, you learn Ronso youth's anger cannot be held back by such small arms!" Garik roared.

"Please, you think _I'm _going to waste my time on _you_?" Matt asked with a laugh. "Sakura can beat you, easy."

"Who is girl?" Garik demanded. "She small, weak. She fall before Ronso wrath within minute!"

"Excuse me? Oh, _hell no_, you didn't just say you could take me!" Sakura shouted at the Ronso.

"Actually he did…" Matt said slowly, as startled by the outburst as the Ronso were.

Sakura turned to glare at Garik darkly. "You'd better get ready to eat those words you overgrown kitten. Because I'm about to kick your ass!"

"Garik not fa-" Garik's familiar boast was cut short when Sakrua's foot connected with his throat. The Ronso stumbled backwards, and Sakura took the chance to grab him by the throat, pull him down as she fell to the ground, planted a foot in his stomach, and sent him flying over her head and into one of the other Ronso who were desperately trying to maneuver Matt into a pincer.

"Funny, if Garik won't fall then why is Garik on the ground?" Sakura questioned mockingly as the Ronso got back to his feet shakily.

"Garik crush human!"

"Oh, please. Shut up and fight, your English is worse then my little brother's!" Sakura stated as she drew one tonfa. Garik roared in outrage and leapt forward, intending to land on Sakura and end the match. Sakura just sighed in annoyance and spun to the side as Garik landed, backhanding him so hard that, off balance from his landing, Garik was knocked to the ground yet again. "Ready to give up yet?"

"Garik will crush you!" Garik tried to say, but the pained yelp of one of the Ronso that Matt was fighting cut him off. Garik roared his anger again, launching himself at Sakura who once again simply spun to the side to avoid his attack.

But Garik was no novice when it came to fighting, and as his hand shot out and latched onto her shoulder Sakura realized that she'd underestimated him. Garik's other arm came back, but Sakura wasn't about to let him hit her. Her own hand shot up, grabbed the Ronso's pinky and pulled, forcing the Ronso to release his grip on her. Another twist and she had the Ronso's arm locked and the Ronso himself on the ground growling.

"I'll ask you again," Sakura said as she stepped on the Ronso's shoulder and began to apply a small amount of pressure. "Are you ready to give up yet?" Garik let out a frustrated roar and Sakura smiled smugly.

"Garik admit defeat," Garik declared in a low, slow growl.

"Well now, that wasn't so painful, was it?" Sakura asked jokingly as she let the Ronso stand. "So, no more war mongering, got it?"

"Garik not go to war," Garik agreed. "Little human girl show Garik that Garik weak in fight. Garik get stronger, then Garik go to war."

Sakura slapped the Ronso across the face so fast that Matt barely saw the motion. "_No war, got it_?" Sakura asked again, glaring at the Ronso more deeply with each word. "I hear anything about you trying to start a war again, and I'll kick your ass again. And next time you won't be walking away in such good shape, either," Sakura warned honestly.

Garik glared at her again, but remained silent. "I guess that's our cue to leave," Matt said more to himself then to Sakura.

"No, not until I hear him say it. I'm going to stop this problem before it _ever _starts again," Sakura stated without turning to face Matt. "Garik? I'm waiting."

"Garik not lead Ronso youth against Guado," The proud Ronso finally growled through barred fangs.

"Good boy," Sakura said before Matt grabbed her wrist and tugged gently. "What?"

"You've made your point, Sakura. Now let it go before we have to fight an army of pissed Ronso," Matt warned in a grave tone. God or not, he didn't want to find out just how many Ronso had been following Garik the hard way.

"Ok, ok, fine," Sakura said with an exaggerated sigh. "Party-pooper."

"Lazy," Matt defended.

"Yeah, that too," Sakura agreed with a grin. Matt just shook his head and smiled as they started back towards the Ronso village.

888

Kitty woke up to the sound of the Celsius landing nearby. For several disorienting seconds she didn't understand why all she saw was a person's shoes and the ground, but a grunt from Seph explained everything. "I passed out, didn't I?"

"Well, well, well, sleeping beauty awakens," Seph said in a slow, strained voice.

"Yeah, so you can put me down if you want to," Seph practically dropped her on the ground at the declaration, not that I bothered Kitty. She had no problems twisting to land on all fours like a surface cat. "I didn't mean drop me!"

"Sorry, my arm kind of gave out on me," Seph stated as he shifted the unconscious goon on his other shoulder. "What'd you do to Ormi and Logos anyway?"

"Beat the crap out of them, hopefully," Kitty said with a chuckle.

"Ok, what'd you do that made you pass out?" Seph rephrased.

"Oh, it's something that all Lydc can do. It's like everything slows down and it just makes it easier to fight people with guns or large groups," Kitty explained somewhat dejectedly.

"Why sound so depressed? That's a hell of a talent," Seph admitted with a little envy in his voice.

"Because… most Lydc have to use it for hours straight before they pass out. I use it for a few minutes and I pass out," Kitty explained with a sigh. "I mean, I'm no warrior compared to most Lydc, but it'd be nice if I was at least average. Not that Spira's top assassin would really understand that."

"Oh, you think I was just born with all this talent?" Seph questioned with in an amused tone. "Sorry to disappoint, but it took me years to get to the point I'm at now. And a lot of demonic contact, too."

"Oh, so even _you _have to work from time to time?" Kitty asked with a laugh. "Didn't expect to hear that one."

"Yeah, yeah. The whole modest assassin thing doesn't go over so well when you're doing business so I tend not to be modest. Just a bad habit I suppose," Seph said, emphasizing it as best he could with a shrug. "Makes the client think you're worst then you really are."

"Ah, of course," Kitty said with a roll of her eyes that she instantly regretted when she was rewarded with a splitting headache. 'At least the Celsius is here. Not like I'll have to stay standing too much longer.' She thought as Yuna and Paine walked off the loading ramp to meet the two.

888

Ryan ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh as he regarded Baby. Once Ryan had closed Rikku's wound as best he could, which wasn't nearly as good as he would have liked, he'd turned his mind to a more solvable problem. How had Baby been able to give off so much hatred? It didn't seem possible to Ryan that the little creature curled up above Rikku's head even knew what hatred was.

"What are you?" He asked Baby so quietly he wasn't sure he'd spoken, but Baby looked up immediately, and his eyes held an intelligence beyond anything that any normal animal, or fiend, should have had. But as quickly as Baby had looked up, the impossibly intelligent look in his eye disappeared, and Ryan was left to wonder whether or not it had ever been there. "You're just one living mystery, aren't you?" Baby gave him a bored look that made him chuckle slightly.

"Ryan, you in here?" Seph's voice called from outside.

"Yeah, in here," Ryan replied as the assassin walked in anyway. "Took you guys long enough."

"Hey, no busting on me mr. I was meditating and let my girlfriend deal with an assassin, got it?" Seph shot back. "Now what exactly is the big de…" Seph's voice trailed off as he laid eyes on Rikku's wound. "Oh shit…"

"Oh shit? Oh shit what, oh shit is bad Seph, don't say oh shit," Ryan said as he stood up, his fear that something was seriously wrong with Rikku bubbling back to the surface.

"I've seen wounds like that before… tell me, from what you saw of him, did the assassin have shadowy looking weapons?" Seph asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

"I don't know, I didn't really take notice," Ryan admitted hesitantly.

"When you tried to heal the wound, did it take several spells to get it to stop bleeding?" Ryan nodded numbly. "And on top of that it didn't close? Oh, that's not good…"

"Seph, what is going on?" Ryan demanded.

"Look, there's no time for questions, I'll explain later. For the moment, hit Rikku with a Holy spell," Seph ordered.

"What the _hell _are you thinking? She's beat up enough as it is, I'm not going to hit her with that kind of spell!" Ryan shouted at the assassin.

"Shut up and do it god damn it!" Seph replied coldly. "Trust me."

"You're asking me to hit my girlfriend with one of the most destructive spells in existence!" Ryan countered.

"You can' do it, can you? Just like you can't fly, or use the Wind Cutter anymore," Seph accused quietly, and it hit Ryan like a wet glove across the face. "It's not that you don't trust me, it's that you can't do it, can you?"

"Is there really time for this?" Ryan asked hotly.

"We're going to make time, damn it. If you don't have your powers, you'll just be a liability against Lusniec, and against Yevon," Seph stated. "I've suspected it for awhile, but I had _hoped _you'd be smart enough to tell us if something like this happened. How _did _it happen?"

"Not the time Seph, just help Rikku," Ryan ordered.

"You won't even try to help her, why should I?" Seph questioned calmly.

"Because _you _might actually be able to do something! We already know I can't!" Ryan shouted at the assassin, his anger getting the best of him.

"Have you tried hitting her with a Holy spell?" Seph countered.

"Of course not! I can't cast it anymore, just like you said!" Ryan retorted.

"Then how the _hell _can you sit there and say you can't help her? You haven't even tried!" Seph accused.

"Because I can't control Holy energy anymore! That was the only reason I was ever able to cast Holy in the first place! Without that there's no way in hell I can cast Holy!" Ryan shouted as his frustration boiled over. Energy cracked through the air, shattering the table Ryan had been sitting at before Seph had come in. The ground around the two shattered, and Seph's shield rose against his will as the energy lashed out.

"Oh, can't control Holy energy anymore?" Seph asked tauntingly as Ryan looked around in shock.

"I can't… I mean I couldn't… what the _hell _is going on?" Ryan shouted in confusion.

"Why don't you stop _shouting _and start hitting Rikku with a Holy spell? If you don't, she's dead," Seph reminded.

"Oh, right," Ryan said as he walked over to Rikku with a ball of energy forming in his hand. Seph winced at the memories of the pain Rikku was about to experience. He had the oddest feeling that once Rikku cried out in pain he was going to be facing a very angry angel.

And when Rikku moaned and Ryan turned a cold eye on him, Seph knew he was right. "Hey, calm down now," Seph said as he put his hands up defensively.

"Seph… if I hadn't held back she'd be dead, wouldn't she?" Ryan asked in an icy voice.

"Ryan, Ryan calm down. Ryan, don't draw that sword," Seph said, although Shinagami came out of its sheath anyway. "Ryan, I think you _really_ need to calm down here." Seph said as he dropped a pendulum into his hand. "Before you do something we're both going to regret."

"I really doubt that," Ryan commented light heartedly before pain erupted from Seph's stomach. The former assassin looked down at the wakazashi protruding from his stomach in disbelief.

"That was… excessive," Seph pointed out in a pained voice as Ryan pulled the wakazashi free indifferently.

"You hurt my girlfriend, so no, I don't think it was," Ryan countered calmly.

"Yeah, it hurts. Believe me I know exactly how badly it hurts. I've been in Rikku's position before," Seph explained as he hit himself with a Water spell, healing the wound easily. "It's the only way to save her, regardless of how you feel." Ryan gave the assassin a frustrated glare. "Look, I may be a former assassin, but that doesn't mean I like to watch people suffer. Most of the time my targets never felt anything."

"That 'most of the time' makes me feel _oh _so much better," Ryan muttered as he gathered another small ball of holy energy to his hand. "Of course, I don't exactly have any other ideas to work with so I have to trust you."

"Great. Next time can we come to that decision _before impaling me with a fucked up sword_?" Seph questioned hotly.

"Depends on if your suggestion hurts Rikku," Ryan admitted with a frown as he pressed the holy energy against Rikku's wound, and watched in helpless frustration as Rikku moaned and twisted in pain. What kind of weapons had that assassin used? "Seph, outside there might still be a pair of daggers in the ground. I didn't think of it before, but maybe you'll be able to figure out who attacked us. After all, it is your field of expertise, no?"

"I guess I'll see what I can do," Seph said with a sigh, making a scene of having a difficult time climbing out the window.

"Just get going," Ryan said with a chuckle.

888

Seph rolled his eyes as he dropped out of the window and onto the soft grass. A quick glance made it clear that there were no daggers in the ground. There were no weapons in the ground period. Seph was about to go back inside and give Ryan crap when something caught his eye. Not because it was flash, no, but for the exact opposite reason.

It was in fact absorbing the light. Seph stopped, a sinking feeling coming over him. He'd already suspect who the assassin was, but to find actual proof was something that Seph had hoped wouldn't happen. He looked down at the smoky metal that was practically melting in the sun. With a sigh he stood so that the two pieces of the odd medal were in his shadow.

Each reformed into an exact copy of Rikku's dagger, only made of a shadowy metal rather then the flamboyant color of Rikku's. "This is bad, very, very bad," Seph whispered to himself as he wrapped his cloak around the two weapons and pulled them out of the ground carefully. Even through the heavy cloak his fingers were beginning to go numb because of the blade's icy touch. "Ryan! Hurry up with Rikku, we're leaving. Now!" Ryan's head popped out of the window with a questioning expression, but Seph just glared at him. "I'll explain later, just get her patched up enough that she can move!"

"Ok…" The swordsmen said before hurrying back into the room. Seph winced when Rikku cried out in pain, the sound followed closely by the distinctive sound of someone being slapped.

"That works," Seph muttered before ushering the two onto the Celsius.

Rikku continuingly slapping Ryan wasn't even enough to make Seph crack a half-smile. Without a word he shoved his way past the quarrelling couple and headed for the room of a familiar, odd eyed woman's room. Without so much as a warning he kicked the door off it's hinges.

"What the hell is your problem, Seph?" Paine demanded, spinning around to face the former assassin with the promise of hell in her eyes. Seph tossed the weapons at her feet as the others rushed to see what was happening.

"Open it," he said simply. Paine glared at him as she picked up the cloak and unwrapped it slowly. As soon as she saw its contents she dropped it to the floor and glared at Seph with twice the hatred she had before.

"What the hell are you doing with those things?" She demanded.

"I found them outside the room Rikku and Ryan were staying in. Apparently someone _using _them attacked and nearly killed Rikku," Seph explained, letting his worry slip into his voice to the point where everyone listening in paled considerably.

"But that means… he was trying to kill Rikku and Ryan? Why?" Paine asked, her questioning gaze shifting to the couple.

"Not a clue," Ryan admitted with a shrug.

"Well, he did say something," Rikku said as best she could, although her voice was thin and quiet. "He said he wanted to rob Lusniec of his greatest pleasure, killing off his successors."

"So whoever it was knows about the gods or Lusniec at the very least, and knows about Ryan," Rae summed up. "That's not good you guys."

"Hey, Seph, could I talk to you alone a minute?" Kitty asked calmly, drawing the assassin's attention.

"Yeah, I guess so," Seph said before weaving his way out of the room to join Kitty in her own room. "This is about what the demon said, right?"

"Yeah, think this guy is the demon it was talking about?" Kitty questioned.

"Probably. Everyone in the assassins' world thought he was dead. He just dropped off the radar," Seph admitted, again without trying to hide the worry in his voice.

"You know who it is then?"

"I know _of _him," Seph said quietly. "He… if he's back then… I'm not the best anymore."

"Excuse me?" Kitty asked in shock.

"If _he's _back, then I'm no longer Spira's best assassin," Seph clarified slowly.

"How is that possible?" Rae asked, barging into the room.

"This guy… he was amazing. He would've killed me without any problems, I can assure you of that much," Seph declared, fixing the Al Bhed Summoner with an icy glare.

"Oh, wonderful. As if having Seph out to kill me two years ago wasn't bad enough," Ryan groaned from outside.

"You people have no concept about 'private conversations' do you?" Kitty asked, not sure whether to be amused or shocked that they were all listening in on the conversation.

"Not when two of our lives are on the line, no," Yuna admitted. "Who is this guy?"

"Nobody knows," Seph explained. "He was Spira's best assassin before me, and he deserves the title in all honestly. I never met him, but I've seen his work. It's terrifying."

"This is really, really bad," Rikku restated with a concerned look towards Ryan, who was looking intently at Baby. "Ryan, why are you playing with Baby at a time like this! Spira's _real _best assassin is after you, you need to train!"

"He was afraid of Baby…" Ryan said slowly.

"Who was afraid of Baby?" Seph questioned, slipping past the rest of the occupants of the hallway.

"The assassin… I think he was afraid of Baby," Ryan said as he looked at the little creature in his hands. "And before you showed up he had this weird look in his eye…"

"A weird look in his eye?" Seph questioned doubtfully

"What're you talking about? Is he sick?" Rikku questioned, taking Baby from Ryan and looking him over quickly.

"No, it's kinda hard to explain," Ryan said helplessly. "It was like he knew something that, I guess."

"You're going crazy pal," Seph said with an uneasy glance at Ryan. "What could Baby possibly know that would make that assassin scared of him? He's tiny!"

"Yeah, that's what I can't figure out either," Ryan conceded with another sigh. "Maybe I really _am _going crazy."

888

Lusniec shook his head in annoyance. Why was Yevon forcing him to help Shuyin learn to fight with Baralai's stupid staff-like weapon? It's not like anybody was going to find out that he wasn't the Praetor of New Yevon anytime soon anyway, and even if they did Lusniec didn't plan to let the half-witted unsent fight anyway.

What _was _that weapon called anyway? And why was he wondering about such stupid things at such and important time for Yevon's plan? He shook his head, trying to clear the stray thoughts from his head. It wouldn't do him any good to be distracted at the moment. It'd just make him sloppy, and if he got caught he'd be dead.

He had to admit that a small part of him hoped that Yevon would hurry up and figure out what he was doing so that he could drop the act he had to keep going. He doubted he'd be able to keep it up much longer anyway. Sooner or later he was going to slip up, it was only a matter of time.

"So how was that?" Shuyin's fake voice snapped Lusniec back to reality.

"Why are you asking me? Or do you enjoy giving me the chance to insult you?" Lusniec questioned icily.

"Just bringing you back to reality you dumb-ass," Shuyin explained. "Why do you keep spacing out? For someone with your title of the greatest swordsman alive, you don't focus too well."

Lusniec just ignored the question, and glanced around the room with a bored expression. All of the machina in the room were lying on the ground in sparking heaps with distaste. He didn't understand why people used them since they never did anything for someone with any real talent. "People can only get better by fighting others," he said without trying to hide his distaste for the machina. "Machina aren't able to adjust to different circumstances, not like humans."

"Blah, blah, blah," Shuyin said mockingly. "If destroying machina is so easy, why don't you fight them?"

"Why would I waste my time on machina? I think I just said that breaking machina doesn't make people ant stronger," Lusniec stated firmly, making it clear that he didn't like the unsent. "Besides, I've got nothing to prove to you."

"You're just afraid," Shuyin muttered under his breath.

"Think what you want," Lusniec replied indifferently.

"I think I will," Shuyin shot back.

"Congrats."

"Vilg oui," Shuyin shot back.

"No, that honor is reserved for the living thank you."

"You're a sick mother fucker, you know that?" Shuyin questioned.

"Not normally."

"Sure, whatever," Shuyin said bitterly.

"Glad we had this discussion," Lusniec replied dryly. "Now, what the heck do you want?"

"When is Yevon coming for the next inspection?" Shuyin asked dully.

"Dunno."

"You don't know a damn thing, do you?" Shuyin questioned superiorly.

"Don't really care to. I'm just here to kill Ryan," Lusniec replied without batting an eye. "Or don't you know a 'damn thing'?"

"Shut up, you gay fag," Lusniec raised an eyebrow at the comment but otherwise made no indication that he'd heard it. "What's wrong, nothing to say in your own defense?"

"Not worth replying to," Lusniec corrected calmly. "Why are you trying to provoke me?"

"So I can kill you," Shuyin explained with a smirk. "Afraid to fight me? You keep avoiding it."

"I could kill you using just my left hand," Lusniec said without a bragging tone.

"Care to find out?" Shuyin asked challengingly, stepping in front of Lusniec and drawing his sword.

"You would challenge Spira's greatest swordsman to a sword fight?" Lusniec asked in a slow, calm tone.

"So?"

Lusniec shook his head and turned is back on the unsent. "You're a fool. Stop picking fights with your allies, and start worrying about killing your enemies. Or better yet, try doing your job properly."

"You saying I'm not doing my job properly?" Shuyin demanded.

"Is Vegnagun still here?" Lusniec asked with a sigh.

"That's not my fault, and you know it! If Yevon would just let me pilot Vegnagun it'd be there already!" Shuyin shouted so loudly that Lusniec turned around and slammed him up against the wall.

"Yevon knows what you want to do. If Yevon let you pilot that… _thing _then you'd be out there tearing apart Spira already!" Lusniec growled before slamming the unsent against the wall one more time and leaving.

"Isn't that the _point_ of having it?" Shuyin countered.

"No, the point of having it is to use it to follow Yevon's _plan_! Not to just randomly kill people so that the successors can come, kill you, take Vegnagun apart, and then take Yevon out too!" Lusniec growled warningly. "Now shut up, Yevon'll be here any minute."

"I thought you didn't know when he was coming!"

"I. Lied." Lusniec said simply, before letting Shuyin scurry off to prepare for the god's arrival. Lusniec watched him go; amazed that someone as old as Shuyin was dumb enough to think that Yevon would let him and Lenne stay together. Or that Lenne would appreciate what the unsent was trying to do in her honor. Did he really think she'd be proud to be with the man who, almost single-handedly, destroyed the human race?

"An idiot, is he not?" Yevon asked with amusement in his voice. "I'm sure you've figured it out by now, haven't you?"

"You don't plan to let him stay with Lenne, regardless of how well he does what you tell him to. Only a blind fool could not see it. Which probably explains why _he _can't see it," Lusniec admitted with a slight grin. It pained him to do it, but he'd long ago mastered the art of hiding his feelings. He could barely look at the unsent without his heart telling him he was a fool to let this go on. If the world wasn't at stake he doubted that he'd have let it anyway.

"Of course you figured it out. That's why I like you, Lusniec, you're always thinking. More over nobody can ever tell what you're thinking about," Yevon said darkly, gazing at the angel steadily.

"What're you getting at?" Lusniec asked calmly.

"Don't forget, your life is in _my_ hands, got it? You try and betray me and I'll kill you then and there," Yevon warned the angel before following the path Shuyin had taken towards Vegnagun.

Lusniec could barely keep himself from shaking. Did Yevon know, or was he just being cautious since their plan was getting closer to the end? But if Yevon knew, why not kill him on sight? Unless Yevon had something else in store for him, a thought that Lusniec didn't want to dwell on. After a deep breath he followed the deranged god down the hallway, arriving in time to hear the end of their conversation.

"That damnable Nooj is sticking his nose where it doesn't belong again. This time he's getting closer to figuring out where we are," Yevon said darkly. "If he figures out where we are, we might be vulnerable. We have to move it soon."

"Finally, I get to try this hunk of junk out," Shuyin said as he gazed up at the machina reverently.

"No, you don't. You may have your own reasons for working with us, but I don't trust you enough to let you pilot an unstoppable machina. _I'll _take Vegnagun to the final area. You two will stay here. The heirs have a nasty habit of showing up at the most inconvenient times," Yevon stated. "They show up, the two of you have to stop them, or at least slow them down long enough for me t get Vegnagun outta here."

"A good plan," Lusniec admitted quietly.

"We'd best get started," Yevon ordered as he rolled up his sleeves and jumped, in a single jump, to Vegnagun's cockpit. "You two had best be ready when they get here. They won't be happy when they find us."

"And they certainly have a way of ruining our plans," Lusniec added indifferently.

"Why do you think you two are standing guard? _Now go stand guard_!" Yevon ordered.

888

"'Lil boy blue! We took care of your problem!" Matt called as he and Sakura walked into the Ronso village.

"Kimahri thank friends," Kimahri said thankfully before turning and pointing down the slope. "Kimahri call Yuna. Yuna come, pick up t friends now."

"Well thank you, Kimahri-sama!" Sakura said pleasantly as Seph stepped out of the airship and yelled for them to hurry. "See ya later!" Kimahri nodded as the two jogged through the village.

"See ya later, 'Lil boy blue!" Matt shouted over his shoulder, easily keeping pace with Sakura as she increased her pace.

"Damn long legs!" She complained as he snickered at her.

"Just shut up and get it, we may have a real problem," Seph stated as they reached the ramp.

"What's wrong?" Matt demanded as he and Sakura started up the ramp.

"Apparently Spira's _real _best assassin has decided to kill Ryan," Kitty explained as they walked on board.

"What? Seph, why the _hell _are you goin…" Matt's questioned died on his lips when he saw Seph shaking his head.

"Not me, the guy that came before me," Seph explained.

"How the hell is he better then you? You're a fucking god!" Matt practically shouted.

"I don't know. There's something about his work…no traces at all. Nothing. No poison, no wounds, no trace at all. Not even any finger or footprints," Seph said with a slight tremor in his voice.

"Well… Seems that Ryan has gotten himself into trouble again," Matt said slowly. "Nothing new about that."

"Matt, you don't get it. This guy is the _best_. There's no 'if he'll kill Ryan here' only a 'when will he kill Ryan'!" Seph declared.

"I know what it means Seph. It means that Ryan has, once again, gotten into a shit load of trouble. And it also means that, once again, we have to watch our backs for an assassin. And it _also _means that we're going to have to bail him out when the assassin shows up!" Matt replied crossly, annoyance flashing in his eyes. "Except we've got something else to do too, we've got a world to save!"

"I know that. I would've expected you of all people to care about your friend's life though," Seph declared.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about Ryan. He's got this little annoying habit. See, seems no matter what happens, he's too damn stubborn to die. Get seriously injured, sure, but not die," Matt explained.

"Really now? Ryan-kun's got a habit of getting seriously injured? What'd ya mean?" Sakura questioned.

"Oh, that? Well ya see, last time we came to Spira he nearly died…" Matt made a show of doing some mental math before saying "fourteen times. Except… he never does die. Although, Rikku got so fed up with it that if he got hurt too bad she wouldn't let him fight. Not even against the little fiends," Matt added with a smirk.

"Heh, Ryan-kun not allowed to fight fiends? That's funny," Sakura said with a laugh.

"You're never going to let Ryan live that down are you?" Sakura looked at Matt with an innocent look. "Yeah, didn't think so."

Sakura put on an insulted look. "What do you mean? What makes you think that I'm going to bother him about it?"

"That impish look in your eye," Matt commented off-handedly.

"Yeah, I've seen Rae with that look on more then a few occasions. Always caused me problems," Seph added in with a sigh.

"Shesh, don't trust me or anything," Sakura muttered as she jabbed Matt in the ribs.

"I was an assassin. It's in my nature not to trust people," Seph stated dryly.

"Don't think she was talking to you," Matt muttered as he pulled Sakura, who was glaring daggers at Seph, towards Ryan's room. "Don't instigate with a guy like Seph."

"Why not? It's not like he's anything special," Sakura argued quietly.

"Yes, he is. You didn't see him two years ago," Matt stated firmly. "He tore apart a fiend that our entire group couldn't take down in a matter of seconds."

"Like you couldn't take the thing out now," Sakura muttered.

"The fact that I could take it out alone now isn't the point. The point is he did it by ripping it apart with the water in its own body," Matt explained.

"Wow… its own body water killed it," Sakura said with a shrug.

Matt let out frustrated and Sakura glanced over at him uncertainly. "Look, the human body is mostly water, right?"

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed slowly.

"And Seph is the god of water, right?" Matt questioned as calmly as he could.

"Yeah…" Sakura agreed again.

"If he can control the water in the air and make anything he wants out of it, what makes you think he can't control the water in _your _body?" Sakura stopped so suddenly that Matt's stop nearly landed him sitting on the ground.

"He can really do that?" Sakura asked in shocked disbelief.

"Yeah, he can really do that," Matt confirmed quietly. "So try not to piss him off, ok? I'd rather not be going out with a ball of water."

"And I'd rather not be a ball of water," Sakura added in an awed voice.

"Why would you be a ball of water?" Rikku asked as she popped her head out of her room.

"Just talking about how Seph killed that massive fiend in Zanarkand two years ago," Matt explained with a shrug.

"Ewww, that was so gross. All that blood and those guts. Yuck," Matt stopped and gave Rikku a puzzled look. "Matt, you ok?"

"All the blood… I didn't get hit with any blood two years ago," Matt murmured.

"Hey… I didn't either," Rikku said with a confused look. "That's weird… there was so much blood, there's no way we could've been missed…"

"Huh… that's really weird," Matt said, dropping the subject even though his mind was still rolling it over. How could he have missed something like that? It was so glaringly abnormal, he should have realized it after the fight with the fiend, or at least the fight with Yunalesca. He slapped himself mentally. Something wasn't right, and he had a feeling that it had something to do with Ryan and Rikku's attacker.

"Matt, you ok?" Sakura asked in a worried voice, brining Matt back to reality.

"Yeah, just thinking how weird that is…" Matt admitted. "Now I'm not going to be able to stop thinking about it!"

"Oh please, we'll think of something to get your mind off of it," Sakura said with a grin that caused Rikku to gasp in surprise after a few seconds.

"Oh my god you two are going out aren't you?" The Al Bhed said excitedly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Matt said distractedly, his mind already rolling through the last few seconds of the fiend's life again.

"Geez, don't sound so happy about it," Sakura muttered aggrevatedly.

"I am it's just… well, frankly, this is really bugging me," Matt admitted with another frustrated sigh. "It just doesn't make any sense that we wouldn't get hit by any of that blood…"

"Well, the fiend's dead, right?" Sakura asked.

"Being dead doesn't count for much in Spira…" Matt pointed out. "Ryan cut Lusniec in half… Seymour, the fucking bastard, was an unsent, and even Auron was an unsent."

"An unsent… those are the people who died, but kept their kinda kept their bodies, right?" Sakura asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Rikku agreed.

"Well, the fiend is dead. There's a freakin' amusement park thing in Zanarkand now!" Sakura shouted.

"True, very true," Matt admitted.

"Then who cares about it?" Sakura demanded, watching Matt expectantly.

"Ok, ok, I get the point," Matt said with a smile. "I'll let it go for now."

"Thank you!" Sakura said with an innocent smile. "Just face it Matt, you'll never win when you're arguing with me. I _always _get what I want when it comes to getting it from guys."

"Yes, because we're all just sex-obsessed pervs with no will power, right Matt?" Ryan asked as he walked up behind Rikku and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Sounds about right," Matt agreed with a laugh. "So, heard you've got _another _assassin after you."

"Oh, Seph got to you already?" Ryan asked with mock surprise. "Yeah, what's new, someone of legendary status trying to kill me. I'm just lucky like that."

"Seph doesn't seem to think that it's that simple," Rikku pointed out.

"Yeah, well Seph hasn't had to fight with Lusniec alone as often as I have," Ryan pointed out.

"Seph's _never _had to fight with Lusniec alone," Rikku corrected.

"No, he did once," Ryan pointed out before adding with a smile, "and he lost."

"Hey everyone, get ready!" Seph shouted from down the hall. "Brother's jumping the gun. We're on our way to LeBlanc's place!"

* * *

well, i hope you enjoy all. now i've got to go clean up dog shit, then finish my english project which i still don't know what i'm doing it on by writing an 8 minute speech on it, and then work on my visual basic final which i'm almost done! yay! then i also have to check all my friends' xangas... damn, i'm gonna be busy for the rest of the day. anyway, please review! and promoting doesn't hurt either... 


	14. Breaking and Entering

Well, here it is everyone. I'd like to thank Da KeR MysTeRr for proof-reading -nods lots- and I'd also like to state that you should all go read Elemental Wars, Operation: Pay Back, and Broken Alliance -nods lots more- Oh, and this of course!

* * *

Breaking and Entering 

Nick was miserable. Ever since he and Brooke had arrived at Château Leblanc, weird things had been happening. At first it had just been when he was alone, creeping through the mansion, trying to find the half sphere that Leblanc had stolen. Whispered warnings of patrols before he heard them, or saw their shadows. He'd passed it off as paranoia heightening his sense at first.

But then it had started happening during the day, stories of murder and betrayal both long ago and more recent. One story was of a half-Guado Maester who murdered his father in a lust for more power over Spira's fate. The whispers had even told him where the body was hidden, and sure enough when he'd checked the spot they'd described there was small bloodstain. At that point he'd thought that maybe he was doing too much searching at night and not getting enough sleep.

For a while it seemed like that was the problem too, until he was talking to Brooke one day. Out of nowhere the whispers came back so urgently that he stopped and looked around, and behind him he found Logos pretending to shoot him with his finger. At that point he knew that something was really, truly wrong. Even worse was after that not only did Brooke watch, but JT too. Nick had a feeling that the red-eyed Al Bhed knew more then he was letting on. Not that he was actually making it seem like he knew anything.

So Nick wasn't surprised to find himself standing in front of JT's door. "Come in." Nick shook his head slightly; he hadn't even gotten the chance to knock yet. "You're here about the whispers, right?"

"How far away do I have to be for you to _not _be able to read my mind?" Nick asked as he closed the door behind himself.

"Oh, it's got nothing to do with that," JT stated quietly, motioning to Melody's sleeping form before ushering Nick back out into the hallway. "What do you think I can tell you that they can't?"

"Why did you invite me in and then usher me out?" Nick asked as he gave the Al Bhed an odd look.

"Eh, felt like it. Now what do you think I can tell you that the whispers won't tell you themselves?" JT demanded.

"If you suddenly started hearing voices that nobody else could hear, would _you _trust them?" Nick asked bluntly.

"I suppose not. So, what do you want to know?" JT questioned with a bored expression.

"What the hell they are, to begin with." Nick stated.

"Don't know."

"Can't you use that song thing you and Ryan have to find out?" Nick questioned.

"It's not just some endless wealth of information you know," Nick glared at the Al Bhed and JT sighed. "Look, it's not something that gives information. It's something that's used in combat, that's it."

"Ok, well what do you think these whispers are?" Nick asked irritably.

"A screwed up version of the Wind Song maybe? I mean, it's doing the same thing basically. Warning you about danger and all of that," JT pointed out.

"Not just that. They keep telling me all these stories about someone I assume to be Seymour, given that he's half Guado," Nick explained. "They also told me where his dad's body was hidden, and when I looked there was a blood stain there."

"It did all that…?" JT asked in surprise. "But… I didn't see any of that when I read your mind…"

"Well maybe you need to work on that then, 'cause they told me all of it," Nick stated as he let out an aggravated sigh. "In fact, when I'm alone I can't get them to shut up half the time. They just keep talking."

"That why you've been looking so tired lately?"

"That combined with our little searches, yeah, more or less," Nick admitted.

"I can see how that would get tiring," JT agreed. "But I've never heard of anything like this other then the Wind Song, and that doesn't give you anything unless you're in a fight."

"So you've got no ide-" He stopped in mid sentence. The whispers were back, and from the sound of it something was up.

"Nick, what's wrong?" JT prompted.

"Hey JT, don't go out tonight, ok?" JT gave him a confused look. "In fact, we don't need to go out until the others get here."

"Ok, you lost me. Why not?" JT questioned.

"I think I may know where it is," Nick said quietly. "The whispers… they're talking about some secret passage. And what do you use a secret passage for?"

"To move from point A to point B without being seen?" Nick sighed, that was certainly one use of a secret passage.

"Or hiding things you don't want anyone to see," Brooke added, her voice startling the two companions.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," Nick agreed as he wondered when she'd snuck up on them. "So now we can just relax, and wait for Yuna, Rikku, and Paine to show up."

"I wonder how long that'll be," Rae questioned as she walked up behind Brooke with a glass of water in her hand.

"That's a good question," JT admitted.

"And you guys are supposed to have a good answer," Brooke stated.

"Tomorrow," Nick said suddenly. He frowned slightly as everyone turned to stare at him quizzically. "Whispers again."

"Damn man… they're useful," JT said with laugh. Nick smiled slightly. He wasn't so sure.

888

"So, we're ready then?" Seph asked when Rikku, Yuna, Paine, and Sakura walked onto the bridge dressed as some of Leblanc's goons.

"We would be if we weren't getting starred at," Rikku said impatiently, pointing at Matt, Ryan, and Brother.

"Oh, you know you like it," Ryan said jokingly.

"That's besides the point! It's not polite to stare, Ryan-kun," Sakura said as she folded her arms and nodded her head.

"Whatever, let's just get going. Knowing Rae's temper, she won't be able to deal with Leblanc's gang much longer," Seph said with a knowing look in his eye.

"Wait… wouldn't that be a reason to _not _go?" Matt asked, earning a laugh from each person as the girls walked out of the airship. "I guess now we just wait then."

"I don't like waiting," Kitty said with a pout.

888

_Your friends have arrived_. Nick's eyes shot open, wide with confusion. He stood up and took in the room.

"Damn shadows," he muttered when he didn't find anyone there. "Can't give me a moment's peace."

_Go to the dinning hall_. Nick sighed and walked out the door, cursing under his breath. He was about to knock on JT's door when the whispers came back. _Hide_.

"Damn it," Nick muttered to himself as he shoved the door open and barged into the room.

"Nick? What the hell are you doing?" JT demanded as Melody covered herself up. Other then motioning for them to be quiet he ignored them. Sure enough, several seconds later he heard two people come walking down the hallway, discussing something in hushed tones.

"Thank you, Leblanc. Now that we know where Vegnagun is, the Youth League can finally stop Baralai's insane plan. I don't know what's gotten into him, but I won't let him use that machina to destroy Spira."

Melody, JT, and Nick shared a wide-eyed glance as the footsteps faded away. "So Nooj and the Youth League are finally gonna make a move against New Yevon…" JT said slowly. "This is going to lead to a civil war if we don't do something."

"Civil war?" Melody asked in shock. "You think things are that bad?"

"Well, let's think about it. New Yevon's got a machina that, apparently, is capable of destroying Spira, right?" Nick rolled his eyes as Melody nodded. "And the Youth League's leader just said that he won't let Baralai destroy Spira, right?"

"Get to the point, we don't have all night," Nick said dryly.

"My point is two of Spira's biggest factions are about to go head to head. That's got civil war written all over it if you ask me," Nick nodded his agreement. JT was right, the tension between the two factions was bad enough without throwing in accusations of having a machine that could destroy the world.

"Regardless, we need to get that sphere half," He stated, opening the door and checking to make sure that nobody was in the hallway. When he was satisfied he glanced back at the two, smirked, and said: "When you two aren't so busy, Brooke and I will be downstairs enjoying breakfast." He quickly darted outside as Melody reached for a pillow, while JT reached for his Katar.

"Well now, you look like you just went through something interesting," Brooke commented as he closed the door and moved away just in time to avoid having his head impaled by the blade of JT's weapon. "What the hell?"

"Just a friendly misunderstanding, nothing to be concerned about," Nick said with a nervous laugh as the blade was pulled back into the room. "What say we go get some breakfast?" He held his arm out and Brooke smiled.

"Sure, I think I can handle that," She said as she took his arm.

888

"How much longer do you think we'll have to wait?" Ryan questioned as he, Matt, and Seph watched Kitty play with Baby.

"Probably not too much longer," Matt said with a casual glance at the entrance to Seymour's old mansion. Not for the first time he tried to figure out why Leblanc would choose the home of someone like that psycho for her base. Just thinking about going back in there gave him the creeps. "Looks like they're still having problems getting in."

"This is bad. If it takes them any longer the guards may notice that something's up," Matt nodded in agreement with Seph's analysis.

"It's getting a little too risky. We need to do something," Matt stated with a sigh. "But what can we do?"

"Pay attention to Baby," Matt looked behind him at Kitty's words and found Baby looking at him, head tilted to the left a little.

"What do you want?" He asked the little fiend, who chattered something before jumping off the high railing and onto the ground below. "What the hell?"

"Oh man, if he's hurt Rikku's gonna kill me," Matt smirked as Ryan jumped over the railing he had been leaning against, dropping down into the same general area Baby had landed. He was about to start going over what they could do to get the girls into Leblanc's place when Ryan's startled, almost fearful voice reached his ears. "Uhhh…. Guys, we've got a problem!"

"What's that?" Seph asked, glancing down calmly, only to end up tapping Matt on the shoulder and pointing to faint, purple light coming from amidst the people who had stopped to watch the light themselves. Matt's stomach dropped, something about this didn't seem right at all.

'_Maybe it's the glowing purple light in the middle of the people?_' he asked himself sarcastically. He was about to walk down and see what was going on when a wave of black and purple flames shot up past the bridge he was on. '_Oh shit… this is bad._'

"I think we should go see if our angelic friend is ok," Seph said, snapping Matt out of his amazed stupor.

"Yeah, maybe," Matt agreed. If he didn't at least try to help Ryan, he knew he'd be answering to a pissed of Sakura, and worse, a furious Rikku. That was that kind of things nightmares were made of, and he didn't plan to let himself deal with it. As he reached a section of the bridge that didn't have flames in front of it he jumped over it, drawing Lightning Edge as he fell. By the time he found Ryan, he found something he'd never expected to see.

A twelve-foot tall Baby, snarling and hissing with flames coming off his muscle filled back. Foot long fangs dripped saliva, and claws that were as long as daggers, along with still expanding muscles that practically rippled beneath his now purple and black fur completed the transformation into whatever Baby had become.

"Geez… and this thing has been living with us?" Matt asked as he stared in horror at the monstrous fiend in front of him, ignoring the dozens of citizens were now screaming and panicking in their attempts to get as far away as possible. Matt couldn't really blame them; even he didn't want to fight Baby, even if his reason were more sentimental then fearful.

"Is that thing _Baby_?" Kitty asked as she and Seph came down the stairs, fighting to make any headway against the wave of panicked citizens.

"Yeah…" Ryan said numbly. "At least… it was."

"Well we have to stop it… him, before he hurts someone," Seph said calmly, a slight hint of anticipation in his voice.

"Just remember, Rikku and Rae are good friends. Kill him and Rae'll be pissed," Ryan pointed out dryly.

Seph sighed and muttered under his breath, "This is going to be a pain in the ass." Matt couldn't agree more.

888

"What in the name of Yevon is _that_!" The guard at the door shouted as he fumbled to get the door open. "Hurry, get inside! Member or not, I'm not leaving you out here to die!"

"What're you talking about?" Sakura asked with her confusion evident in her voice. The guy had been so adamant about not letting them in, what would make him do a 180 out of nowhere?

"That!" The man shouted, pointing behind them before running inside screaming for help.

"Holy hell…" Sakura whispered in terrified awe at the sight of a twelve-foot fiend in the middle of the plaza, with Ryan-kun, Seph-san, Kitty-chan, and Matt surrounding it. She took a step towards them, her tonfas already in her hands, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"We don't have time. They can take care of themselves, let's go," Paine said in an urgent whisper. Sakura took one last look at her boyfriend and friends. She knew Paine was right, there was no way any of them would die regardless of how big the fiend was. But the fact that a fiend that large had gotten into the city without _someone _noticing it disturbed her. "Sakura, let's go," The silver haired woman urged again, this time grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling her into the building.

Only to find the inside of the mansion was in as much disarray as the outside. "That fiend must've caught them off-guard," Yuna noted.

"Probably. I know it caught me by surprise," Sakura admitted as the four of them made their way into a seemingly deserted hallway. Just as Sakura was about to take the ridiculous outfit of someone came walking around the corner, grabbed her by the wrist, and pulled her back around the corner. It happened so fast that by the time she'd gotten her wits about her, a hand was clamped down over her mouth and Nick was standing in front of her motioning for her to be quiet.

"Relax, I'll be right back," He said quietly before disappearing, this time returning with the rest of the girls. "You four ready to find this sphere and get the hell out of here, because I know I am."

"Yeah, this place is giving me the creeps," Yuna agreed.

"What's with all the secrecy? And where's JT?" Paine demanded

"He went ahead to, uh… take care of any problems," Nick said with an uneasy grin. "Said something about not trusting Leblanc's base…"

"Yeah, sounds like something my little bro would say. He's always so paranoid…" Rae said with a sigh.

888

Matt launched himself at Baby with Lightning Edge bared. He aimed for Baby's head, hoping that Baby wouldn't suffer too much. But Baby didn't plan on dying so easily, or making his friends' jobs any easier. Just as Matt swung, Baby's mouth shot forward and he bit down on Lightning Edge's blade tightly. Matt just stared at the fiend in open surprise until he was sent sailing over the bridge the four had been standing on earlier and landed with a dull _thud_. '_There went a pair of my ribs,_' he thought dully as Seph stepped forward to take his turn.

A pair of pendulums shot forward, wrapping around Baby's massive legs with a determined look. The fiend let out another roar, before the purple and black flames reappeared, evaporating the water and melting the pendulums instantly. The assassin took one look at the ruined weapons and then let out a string of curses just before being backhanded by one of Baby's paws. Even with his shield in place, Seph ended up cracking a pair of ribs, and shattering his right elbow before his head connected with a steel beam, knocking him out instantly.

Ryan looked at Baby, then to Matt, then to Seph, then to the reverse-bladed sword he held in his hand. "Oh, right, that's gonna work." Matt chuckled slightly as he stood up slowly and watched Ryan cut his hand on the blade of his sword. "Sorry Baby, I _really _don't like to do this but it's pretty obvious that holding back won't work." The blade glowed red as he traced his blood along it. "Wind Cutter!" The red beam flashed towards the fiend, only to slam into the purple and black flames, disappear, and then come flying back at Ryan. The angel was so stunned that his Wind Cutter had been repelled that he barely raised his sword to defend. In the end he was nearly sent through a four foot thick wall, knocked out, and his reverse-blade was little more then a puddle of molten steel.

'_What the hell happened? What the hell _is _Baby?_' Matt wondered as he gripped Lightning Edge tighter.

888

"Always have to leave a trail of sleeping guards for us, don't you?" Rae asked when the group finally caught up with him. JT looked back and found the rest of the group, no longer dressed as goons, coming down the hallway.

"It was a lot more then just guards," JT muttered, pointing to the corridor behind him. "That, dear Rae, was a moving wall lined with spikes that decided suddenly that it didn't like me."

"Wow, even walls don't like you? Damn, how'd you end up scoring a girl like Melody?" Rae asked mockingly.

"Oh… you know. Saving her from being raped, being good in bed, the usual," JT replied, earning a glare from his sister. That made his day, he couldn't normally get under Rae's skin. "Now, before Rae can start in on me about making comments about getting laid and how someone my age shouldn't be having sex, what say we go get this sphere? Nick, care to lead the way?" Nick looked at JT questioningly, but even though the request seemed random JT was curious. He wasn't sure if Nick could consciously call on the whispers he was hearing to gain information, or if it was something out of his control.

"Ummm… why?" Nick questioned slowly, and JT wanted to slap him.

"The directions you gave me were perfect. Seph couldn't have given them better himself, everything was exactly where you said it would be," JT explained. "What makes you think that you can't lead us through a maze?"

"Maze?" Nick asked with a surprised voice. "Is it really that big?"

"Just shut up and go lead," JT said with a helpless shake of his head. Could this kid do _anything_ he was told without questioning why?

"If you say so," Nick said with a shrug before taking the lead position. JT watched and followed silently as Nick guided the group around patrols, through shadow-filled corridors, and directly to a room where he walked over to a single sphere and picked it up. "This should be it."

"But it's a complete sphere," Sakura said as she looked at the sphere Nick was holding.

"Now it makes sense. Why would they bother stealing a half sphere?" JT questioned.

"You are an annoying lot, aren't you?" Logos questioned, causing the group to spin around to find the lanky man standing behind a very frightened Rae and Brooke.

"Very good, loves. You've figured it out," Leblanc's annoying voice grated on JT's already irritated nerves. The face Rae was making, the way she was standing deathly still, it was pissing him off.

Nobody hurt his sister. Nobody threatened his sister, nonetheless a lanky ass hole like Logos. "Let. Them. Go." He said slowly, each word passing through a clenched jaw.

"I went through a lot of trouble gathering those pieces for Noojie-Woojie. So don't lay a finger on it! Let's get'em, boys!" Leblanc shouted.

"Hold it!" Nick shouted just as JT was about to launch himself at Logos. "Let them go like JT said," Nick held the sphere as high above his head as he could, "or I shatter this piece of shit."

"What! You wouldn't dare!" Leblanc challenged. Nick raised an eyebrow and let a slight smirk play on his features. JT had never seen a face quite like it on him before. There was something about it.

Something that scared the Al Bhed and he didn't understand why. "Well Leblanc? Are you willing to throw all that work away?" JT didn't have to dive into the blonde woman's mind to know what she was thinking.

"Let them go, Logos," Leblanc ordered with a defeated sigh. The lanky man cast Nick a hate filled glare but lowered his guns away from the women's heads. Nick smirked.

"I didn't really expect you to. Paine, catch," JT knew what Nick was planning, and the two moved in perfect harmony. Nick spun and tossed Paine the sphere with one hand, while the other hand hurled a handful of white capsules at Logos' feet. The lanky man growled and stepped back and away from the capsules, only to be caught off guard when they exploded and sent smoke up in his face when they hit the ground.

In that fraction of a second that Logos was startled JT was there, and before anyone knew what had happened the man's guns clattered to the ground, and a scream of pain was suddenly cut short as JT's knee connected solidly with Logos' face.

Ormi, seeing his friend collapse in pain turned to face JT's crouching form, and that cost him. Nick's hockey stick slammed into the turning man's ankles, taking them out from under him. As Ormi hit the ground with a _thud, _the spear end of Nick's weapon pressed itself against his exposed neck, which caused the fat man to go stiff instantly.

"You wanna try your luck?" Yuna asked as she pulled out her guns and leveled them at Leblanc. The blonde swallowed and quickly shook her head.

"W-Wait a second. I'll let you see the sphere!" Leblanc suggested instead.

"Let us?" Sakura asked in shock. "We just beat your thugs in like, five seconds, and you're going to _let us_ watch the sphere?"

"Please, the sphere is yours to watch," Leblanc stated in a defeated tone.

888

Kitty knew that she'd read about this fiend before. It looked so familiar that she wanted to smack herself for not being able too recognize it. Instead, she ended up ducking under Matt as he went flying over her head once again. '_What were you? Why can't I remember?_' Baby let out another roar and Kitty realized something. "It isn't trying to finish off Seph or Ryan!"

"So what?" Matt demanded as he struggled to stand up.

"So, I think it's pretty obvious that we aren't going to be able to stop this thing, but despite that it isn't trying to kill us!" Kitty shouted.

"What're you saying?" Matt shouted, his frustration rising to the surface.

"I think Baby is just giving us the distraction we needed!" Kitty shouted. "He hasn't tried to kill anyone, and he hasn't attacked really. All he's done is defend himself!"

"What're you saying, if we give him some tea and biscuits he'll just go back to the little fur ball that rides around on Rikku's head?" Matt asked sharply, more sharply then he'd intended to.

"You don't have to be such an ass about it!" Kitty hissed back.

"Sorry, bad time!" Matt replied after taking a deep breath. He wanted to launch himself at Baby again, the squirrel-fiend was pissing him off, but that hadn't worked yet. They definitely needed a new plan. Whatever Baby had become, it was way more then he, Seph, Ryan, and Kitty could handle. Hell, as far as he was concerned, Baby was stronger then Yevon was. Of course, Baby wasn't a psychotic god, possessing another god, trying to destroy Spira. What if Baby was just trying to give them the distraction they needed? "Kitty, we're leaving!"

"We're _what_?" Kitty shot back in surprise as he grabbed her by the arm and sprinted towards the entrance to the town. "Why the heck are we leaving?"

"Think about it! First off… Baby's not trying to hurt anyone. He let everyone who didn't attack him go. Second, as you yourself said, he isn't trying to kill anyone. Third, I don't feel like dealing with Rikku when she finds out that I jammed a ten-thousand volt electrical ball through his eye and into his brain. Fourth, if he was just trying to provide a distraction he'll either follow us or go back to his normal form, right?"

"You're making a lot of assumptions here," Kitty pointed out as the two passed out of the city and into the nearby woods.

888

"I see Bevelle hasn't lost its old fondness of secrets," Paine noted dryly.

"Exactly," Leblanc agreed venomously. "Those Yevon scum have been concealing that weapon all along. If they use it, Spira's done for."

"But it's a machina!" Rikku stated happily. "All we have to do is shakey-shake our way up to it and take it apart!"

"That's what Noojie's got in mind," Leblanc explained. "And of course, whatever he's planning is what I'm planning. What about you?"

"Me?" Yuna asked in a surprised voice.

"The Summoner who defeated Sin ought to stand up and defend Spira again," Leblanc said dully. Yuna just nodded slowly, which caused Leblanc to smile widely. "So then I guess we're on the same side. We'll be waiting for you."

"Waiting where?" Paine demanded.

"Don't be silly, love," Leblanc said with a laugh as Nick let Ormi up, and Logos stood slowly. "On your airship of course! I've always wanted to take a spin on that thing."

"Ever heard of asking?" Rikku shouted. The three ignored her, and she let out a frustrated sigh and chased after them as they walked away. JT winced, a bad feeling washing over him. He glanced over at Nick who's face showed that he was worried about something.

'_Oh, this can't be good_.' He thought as the two shared a look before sprinting out of the room, leaving Yuna, Paine, and Sakura standing there in utter confusion.

888

"Ryan!" Rikku shouted in horror when she managed to make it out of Leblanc's headquarters. The angel was still unconscious, and still gripping the remains of his reverse-blade sword as a much smaller, cuddlier version of Baby sat on his shoulder and licked his cheek sadly. "Ryan, wake up! What happened!"

A low moan drew Rikku's attention behind her, where Seph was starting to come around. Rikku stared at him in horror. Ryan getting hurt, while not expected, wasn't uncommon. If Seph got knocked out though, Rikku didn't want to think of what that fiend was capable of.

"Geez… where am I?" Ryan asked in a pained voice.

"We're in Guadosalam," Rikku explained. "What happened to you?" Rikku waited for an answer but Ryan just leaned forward, wincing as pain shot through his back. He was in worse shape then she'd thought, he could barely sit forward. "Ryan, are you gonna be ok?"

"I think so," Ryan said slowly, wincing as he pulled a piece of rock out of his back. "What happened to Baby?"

"What do you mean what happened to Baby? He's sitting on your shoulder," Rikku raised an eyebrow as Ryan's eyes widened for a second before he turned and found the normal version of Baby chittering at him apologetically from his shoulder. "Hey, why's he so sorry?"

"Ummm, that big, snarling fiend that appeared here?" Rikku nodded, not entirely sure what Ryan was getting at as he stood up and made his way towards Seph. How was Baby connected with that monster? "That was our little friend here," Ryan finished, pointing a finger at Baby.

Rikku started to laugh at the ridiculous idea, but a knowing glance from Ryan caused her to stop. "You're serious!" Ryan nodded and Rikku stared at Baby in shock. "But… how?"

"That is something we don't know," Ryan replied with a sigh.

"Well, we've got more pressing matters," Leblanc stated with a frustrated sigh. "If you can't take out one little fiend then you'll only slow us down!"

"Did you _see _that fiend?" Seph asked as he stood up, already in the middle of casting water spells to heal himself. "It happened to be twelve feet tall."

"What are you talking about, it's sitting on Ryan's shoulder!" Leblanc said without trying to hide her impatience. "Now can we hurry up? We have to get to Bevelle!"

"Why are we going to Bevelle?" Seph demanded as he tested out his elbow carefully.

"That's where Vegnagun is," Rikku said simply.

888

"Bevelle, always freakin' Bevelle," Ryan muttered to himself as he watched the ceiling of his room with a bored expression. That wasn't what was really bothering him though. The scar on his back, the assassin that attacked Rikku, Baby's transformation, and of course Lusniec not killing them the last time they met were all bothering him, sifting through his mind so that he couldn't focus on any one for too long. "They just can't _not _have secrets, can they?" Ryan asked, trying to concentrate on the matter at hand.

"Nah, not their style," Matt said as he walked in. "You ok?"

"Come again?" Ryan questioned, casting his friend a confused glance. Matt didn't normally worry about whether or not he was ok, given that he almost always came out fine in the end.

"Well, Kitty and I did kind of run out on you and Seph…" Matt pointed out in a slightly ashamed voice.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Ryan said with a shrug. "What do you really want?"

"Can't a guy be worried about his friend's health?" Matt questioned.

"You didn't come to ask me if I'm ok, you already knew I was," Ryan said dryly. Matt had seen him walk into the airship on his own, and that had always been enough for him before. What was up with him?

"You're as annoyingly observant as ever," Matt noted as he closed and locked the door. "Something's not right."

"You think?" Ryan asked sarcastically as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and waited for Matt to continue.

"Why do you think Baralai, the leader of one of the three major factions in Spira, would be keeping a weapon that could destroy the world in working condition?" Matt questioned as he leaned against the wall, to which Ryan only shrugged.

"Only thing I can think of is holding Spira hostage," he admitted. Matt was about to say something when he held up his hand, silencing him. "Think about it. He's basically at war with Nooj and the Youth League, right? What's a better bargaining chip then the fate of the planet?"

"That's true, but even so… it doesn't sound right for some reason," Matt said with a frustrated sigh.

"No, it doesn't… does it? But is there really any other way he could use it? I mean, unless he's actually trying to destroy the world there really isn't any reason to keep it in working order," Ryan pointed out.

"We must be missing something," Matt countered. "There's something we don't know, and it's probably a major factor in this."

"We're _always _missing a major factor," Ryan pointed out, although he knew that Matt had a good point. They were missing something.

"Wait…" Ryan looked over to find Matt's eyes widening. Ryan was about to ask what he was talking about when Matt started for the door, muttering "I need to see Seph for a second, I'll be right back."

888

"Seph, open up, I need to see the book of the Gods!" Matt's voice shouted as the god pounded on the door. Seph sighed to himself and looked at Rae who pouted slightly before wrapping the covers of her bed around herself.

Seph sighed as another round of knocks assaulted his door. "Coming, I'm coming," He shouted in a groggy voice before messing up his hair as he walked to the door. "What?" He demanded as he opened the door a crack.

"I need to borrow the book of the gods," Matt stated urgently.

"Why?" Seph asked. He'd already let Matt see it, why would he need it again?

"Just let me see it Seph." Seph raised an eyebrow at the forceful voice. Matt didn't normally talk like that, at least not towards him.

"Ok, hold on," Seph said before closing the door, wondering what had gotten into Matt.

"Something wrong?" Rae questioned, letting the blankets fall away and stretching out teasingly on the bed. Seph gave her a playful grin before grabbing the book and running back to the door. "Here you go, enjoy," He said impatiently, knowing that Rae was enjoying the scene.

Matt took the book and nodded his thanks before saying, "Night Seph, Rae. Enjoy, don't keep us up too long."

"Good night Matt!" Rae called cheerfully.

"Yeah, and I don't wanna see you before tomorrow, got it?" Seph added, which only resulted in Matt smirking and walking back down the hallway. With a relieved sigh Seph turned back to Rae, who was back under the blankets. "Oh, now you're just teasing me."

"It's so much fun," Rae purred quietly as he walked back to the bed with a smile.

888

"Ryan, open up," Matt ordered. Before he even moved for the door it was open, and he walked to the only table in the room and dropped the book down on it. "Here," He stated, his finger drawing Ryan's confused gaze to a specific passage on the page.

"And thus was born Vegnagun, scourge of Spira, at the hands of the most powerful of the gods. It was to be his final trump card, the final safe-guard against any attempt by the other gods to overthrow him. A monstrous weapon created solely to destroy Yevon's flesh and blood," Ryan read slowly, the shock clearly seen in his expression as he turned to face Matt. "You think that Baralai's working with Yevon?"

"Maybe, maybe not, but he does have something that Yevon's going to want," Matt said darkly. "That means that odds are we're going to meet up with him sooner or later if we keep chasing Vegnagun."

"And Lusniec along with him," Ryan added with an equally dark look.

"Probably. But the question remains: If Baralai's working with Yevon, why?" Matt stated.

"Guess we'll just have to ask him when we get to Bevelle then, won't we?" Ryan asked as much as stated.

"We will," Matt agreed.

888

"So how we gonna do this?" Rikku asked as they walked into Bevelle.

"It's obvious!" Leblanc stated firmly. "We nab the head honcho. Then, we make him lead us to Vegnagun, and… checkmate."

"Someone sounds like she's been planning this for awhile," Matt pointed out dryly.

"I got no problem with this," Ormi stated. "Our target is the New Yevon Praetor, Baralai!"

"A girly man like that doesn't stand a chance without his escort," Logos added in.

"Careful," Paine warned.

"Yeah, he's a lot stronger then he looks," Seph finished.

"It's those Youth League spies!" a group of guards shouted as they rounded the corner and readied their guns. "We won't have you defile this place the way you defiled Kilika!"

"Well, good luck!" Leblanc offered before her, Ormi, and Logos ran off.

"If they keep doing that, I'm going to hurt them," Matt muttered as he looked over the four guns pointed at them to the guards behind. "So, how big of a scene do we cause?"

"As little a scene as possible," Seph answered with a sigh. "Or did you miss the part about sneaking in?"

"We've all got different definitions of sneaking, Seph," Matt pointed out as he bent down and put a hand on the ground.

"What the hell? Random stomach pains?" Nick questioned as he watched Matt close his eyes. Instead of answering, Matt sent a wave of electricity through the ground. At first nothing happened, but just as Nick was about to make another snide comment when all four of the gun barrels slammed into the ground. "Or you could be taking care of our little guard problem. That works too."

"Yeah, just get them," JT muttered as he stepped towards the four men who were desperately drawing knives.

"Oh, please, like they're going to do anything," Ryan stated with a laugh.

"They don't know who we are…" Nick agreed as the four rifles went scraping across the ground away from the guards. "JT?"

"One step ahead of you," the Al Bhed said with an eager tone as the two charged in.

"Seph, Rae's going to kill you for letting him do that…" Matt pointed out.

"Yeah, well. That's not what she was doing last night," Seph replied in a voice that left little to the imagination.

"Dude… we didn't need that visual!" Ryan stated as he shook his head in disgust.

"Well you got it anyway, get over it," Seph said, clearly enjoying everyone's reactions.

"Can we move along now? I don't need to hear anymore sex stories involving my sister," JT said dryly from his seat atop an unconscious guard.

"Oh, poor kid. Why didn't Brooke-chan, Kitty-chan, or Rae-chan come anyway?" Sakura questioned.

"Oh, Rae and Brooke are taking the chance to catch up, and Kitty would draw _way _too much attention," Seph explained with a shrug. "Besides, Rae's not all that popular around Bevelle… something about owing lots of people money or some such. Oh, and the few times the summoned fiends broke out of her control when she first moved here. They kept tearing apart nearby homes and what not… and people, if the security forces didn't arrive in time. And she stepped on a lot of toes, and-"

"We get it Seph," Paine cut in sharply, irritation showing in her red eyes. "Just lead us to the temple."

"Yeah, yeah, chill out you albino wanna-be," Seph replied with a sigh as he led the group through the twisting streets. When they finally arrived he shook his head in distaste.

"What's wrong?" Yuna asked as she stepped past him and walked right inside.

"Never liked these places. Something just never sat right with me," He said with a shrug before following her into the cloisters.

And immediately was attacked by a group of enemies. By the time anyone had drawn their weapons the group was surrounded by a dozen machina guards, and three floating eyes. "Oh, this is lovely," Matt muttered as he drew Lightning Edge. "Ok, let's make some quick work of these things."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Seph stated as a ring of water dropped out of the air and landed in a circled that drenched every machina. "You're up Matt."

"How kind of you, taking care of preparations for me like that," The thunder god replied as a spark shot out of one of his fingers and hit the water. The results of the attack were immediate as all the machina jerked and short circuited, and in some cases even partially exploded. "Well, I'd say that worked well."

A spray of pyreflies engulfed him from the side, and he turned to find Paine's sword had cut one of the flying eyes in half. "Stay focused," She ordered with a scowl before driving her sword through the eye of another one.

"Geez, cranky much?" Matt questioned before hurling a bolt of lightning into the last eye just before Ryan hit it.

"Only when people don't pay attention in life or death situations," Paine stated firmly before walking off down the corridor.

"Geez… something's got her in a rotten mood," Matt muttered as he hefted Lighting Edge and followed the rest of the group after Paine.

888

"Hey Rae, did you take my book?" Kitty asked as she came out of her room, hair still wet from her bath.

"Uhhh… I think-" Rae started but Brooke cut her off.

"Oh, sorry Kitty! I saw it and got interested and kind of… took it," Brooke admitted nervously as she held the book out to the Lydc.

"Oh, it's ok. I just didn't know where it was," Kitty said with a slight chuckle. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you or anything."

"Ok, it's just… I really should have asked. I know I hate it when people take my stuff without asking, so I shouldn't have done it myself," Brooke explained, but Kitty waved it off.

"So, what do you think?" Kitty asked, pointing to the book.

"Oh, it's interesting. I've never heard of half of it, but that's not the point," Brooke said with a grin. "Although, I would like to know why Ryan, Matt, and Seph are in here."

"Oh, that…" Rae said nervously. "Actually… I was just thinking about telling you that, so this works pretty well. You see… Matt and Seph are gods."

Brooke burst out into laughter, which drew a sour glare from Rae. "Rae, look, I know you said Seph's good in bed, but I think calling him a god for just that might be a little extreme," Brooke said through fits of laughter.

"I'm not talking about that, thank you," Rae replied dryly. "What I meant was that they _really are _gods. Well, they're heirs to the powers of gods anyway."

"Right, and Lucil is my lesbian lover," Brooke said jokingly.

"Listen, I'm serious!" Rae said stubbornly. "Seph is the god of water, and Matt is the god of lightning."

"Sure Rae. Seriously girl, I think you need to stop reading this book," Brooke suggested as she held up Kitty's book. "Because… you're really starting to creep me out."

Rae fixed her friend with a stern glare. This wasn't going as well as she'd hoped, not that she'd really expected it to. "You know, I'm really getting sick of people not believing this. First Kitty attacks me because of it, you don't believe me. Why do I even bother to tell people?"

"Because you're Rae and you love to gossip?" Brooke suggested.

"Shut up," Rae shot back. "You aren't exactly out of the loop yourself you know."

Brooke put on an innocent face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you know more about what's going on in Spira then most people will ever know," Rae said dryly, drawing a snicker from Brooke. "So, if you aren't going to believe me about Seph and Matt, at least share what you know. What's going on?"

"Pardon?" Brooke asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't play coy with me, Brooke. I know all about your network," Rae stated, a slight smile playing across her features as Brooke's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't really think that you'd be able to keep it hidden forever, did you?"

"Well, it seems I'm found out," Brooke said with a laugh. "Well, if that's the case, should I assume you know about Vegnagun as well?" Rae nodded. "That's what your friends are going to destroy, right?"

"Of course, that thing has to be taken out or Spira's done for," Rae stated sadly.

"Well, they're going to be too late. By the time they reach the place it's being kept, it'll be gone," Brooke said with a slight shrug.

"What do you mean?" Kitty questioned a confused look on her face.

"Rumor has it that Baralai, after suddenly having it moved _to _the area under the Bevelle temple, suddenly ordered it to be moved somewhere else. He never told anyone where exactly it's being moved to, or why it's being moved there, that I could get in touch with. However, a lot of others that have inquired about it have gone missing, even some of the people helping to move it," Brooke explained sadly. "Including a few of my friends."

"This is… starting to sound like a trap," Kitty noted quietly.

"Yeah, a very elaborate one. But why would someone set a trap, and who's it meant to catch?" Rae questioned, glancing once again at Brooke.

The former Youth League member sighed. "You're not going to like what I have to say."

"Oh god, what's going on Brooke?" Rae demanded forcefully.

"Rae… I do believe you about your boyfriend, and Matt, and Ryan. I've known for over a year now…" Brooke said quietly.

"Why am I not going to like this if you're agreeing with me?"

Brooke gave Rae a sad look. "Because the trap? It was set by Lusniec and Yevon to trap and Kill Seph, Matt, Ryan, and Sakura. Without them, there won't be anyone who can stop Yevon from destroying Spira," Brooke said quietly. "If they don't realize that… then we're all dead."

"You underestimate them," Rae said after a few, quiet moments. "Just because Yevon and Lusniec set a trap, doesn't mean that they'll be able to catch Seph and the others in it. Besides, you don't understand how powerful Seph and Matt are, and Sakura's coming along as well. There's no way that Yevon will be able to kill them m all, even with Lusniec's help."

"Rae, I think you're overestimating them. Even if they are heirs to the power of gods… they're still only human. Lusniec and Yevon aren't," Brooke said quietly.

"'_The power of the lords will falter before the will of humans, and the new shall replace the old,_'" Kitty said with a slight smile. "It's a saying that the Lydc have passed down from generation to generation. Maybe this is what it was talking about."

"I wouldn't get your hopes up in any case," Brooke said gently, earning another stern glare from Rae.

888

Nick had an increasingly bad feeling as the group wandered through the halls underneath Bevelle. He knew what the halls had originally been for, even if the others didn't. It was the path to Bevelle's trump card in the war with Zanarkand years ago, the weapon known as Vegnagun. He was hearing the whispers again, and they were giving him the run-down on Vegnagun, and warning him about guard patrols. And from what he was hearing, he was beginning to wonder if they stood a chance against the machina.

"The Gullwings? I was wondering who was here," Baralai admitted when the group rounded a corner and found him waiting, staff in hand. "You don't have to tell me. I know why you've come. You're here to destroy the weapon that threatens all Spira: Vegnagun. Am I right?"

"Gee, ya think?" Nick asked sarcastically. Something was off about this guy; he didn't need the whispers to tell him that. It was almost like there was a shadow of someone else behind him.

"If it could be destroyed, we would have done so long ago," Baralai explained easily. "But Vegnagun must not be touched. Neither you nor Nooj seem to understand that."

"You talked to Nooj?" Paine asked suddenly.

"He… cannot be trusted," Baralai said quietly.

"But you can be, right?" Matt asked disbelievingly.

"Touché," Baralai admitted. "Yes, I suppose Yevon brought this distrust upon itself. At any rate, you need not interfere. Leave Vegnagun to me."

"What are you planning to do?" Yuna demanded, and in response Baralai only readied his weapon.

"The only thing I can do: Keep those who would seek to harm Vegnagun away," Baralai explained. "Please leave."

"Yuna. Rikku. Everyone. Leave him to me," Paine stated, an edge to her voice that wasn't normally there.

"But-"

"Get moving Rikku," Paine warned, cutting the Al Bhed off as she drew her sword.

"Paine!" Baralai said urgently. "Just leave!"

"What's this, Praetor?" A familiar voice asked with a hint of amusement. "Your machina didn't work? Didn't I tell you they were no match for humans, none the less three heirs?"

"Lusniec," Ryan stated as the angel came around the corner, Wind Cutter already drawn.

Nick shook his head, there was something about Lusniec that was different too. He'd expected some overwhelmingly dark shadow behind the fagot, but there was nothing. To be honest the angel seemed to glow slightly. It was unnerving to say the least. "I think we should let Ryan and Paine deal with this," He said when nobody said anything.

"What?" Rikku shouted, spinning on him so fast that she nearly lost her footing. "We can't just leave our friends like that!"

"No, he's right Rikku," Paine agreed. "Besides, this hallway is too cramped for all of us to fight effectively. The less people the better."

"I hate to admit it, but she's right," Seph said with a sigh. "The more of us there are in here, the harder it's going to be for them to fight. Our best bet is just to move on."

"You think we're just going to let you go past?" Lusniec asked curiously as he shouldered Wind Cutter.

"Yes," Seph said dryly. "Because Ryan's going to make sure you don't have the chance to stop us, right Ryan?"

"Yeah," Ryan agreed, though Nick could tell by his voice that he wasn't as certain as he sounded. Or maybe it was what the whispers were telling him that made him doubt Ryan's certainty, he wasn't sure. Either way, he doubted that Ryan was as sure as he sounded, and he doubted that he was wrong.

"Let's go then," Nick suggested as he started forward. Lusniec moved to cut him off, but was forced to worry about more pressing matters when Ryan dashed forward and nearly opened him from stomach to shoulder with Shinagami.

"A little faster people!" Ryan complained as Lusniec jumped backwards, Wind Cutter still resting on his shoulder.

888

Paine shook her head as Baralai watched the rest of the group pass without batting an eye. Something was seriously off about him. Two years ago if he hadn't been able to convince them to leave with words, he'd have convinced them with his skill with his weapon. So why was he letting them pass now?

"What're you planning, Baralai?" The Praetor ignored the question and dropped into his ready stance, his eyes narrowing dangerously as they focused on her.

"Paine, this is your last warning. Leave now," Baralai pleaded.

Paine shook her head again and drew her sword, her red eyes resting calmly on her former friend. "We're getting rid of Vegnagun." Baralai sighed, but Paine could tell by the glint in his eye that he'd been hoping she'd say that. He really had changed.

"Fine," Baralai stated simply, not waiting for any further conversation. Baralai launched himself forward, his usually calm face contorted in anger as he slashed out at her. Paine spun to one side, using her momentum to further power her slash towards Baralai's back. The Praetor's bladed staff came swinging around and kept the attack from tearing his back open, but the force behind it left him staggering forward. Before he had the chance to recover Paine's sword came around, the back of it knocking Baralai's legs out from under him smoothly.

Cursing, Baralai rolled to the side to avoid the stab at his back that was coming. But she knew he'd be expecting it, so instead of thrusting down as hard as she would against a less experienced foe Paine just let the tip of the blade touch the ground as Baralai got to his feet. Again Paine was left with the feeling that something was wrong. Baralai was better then this, she knew that from her time in the Crimson Squad. Had he really gotten that rusty? Something inside her doubted it.

888

Lusniec stepped back again, easily avoiding Ryan's attack. Ryan had gotten slightly faster; he'd give the kid that. But overall there had been almost no improvement in his successor's skill. It worried him, and he decided it was time to do something about it. "My turn yet?"

"If you feel like joining." Lusniec couldn't help but smile slightly at the comment as he, for the first time this fight, took Wind Cutter off his shoulder and held it out in front of him.

"You disappoint me, Ryan!" Lusniec shouted as he charged in and slashed at Ryan's stomach. Ryan barely managed to get Shinagami up in time to block before his fist came flying in at Ryan's head, forcing Ryan to dodge to the side. Without wasting any time Lusniec dropped to the ground and slashed at Ryan's feet while the heir was unbalanced, forcing Ryan to make an awkward jump. Almost as soon as Ryan's feet were off the ground Lusniec kicked him into the wall with enough for to crack it. "You see? Barely any challenge at all!"

"Shut up already. Your voice is giving me more of a headache then hitting that wall," Ryan complained as he pulled himself out of the wall, a hand pressed against his bleeding forehead.

"Oh, still standing?" Lusniec asked with an amused chuckle. "You're a glutton for punishment, you know that?"

"What happened, Lusniec?" The question caught him off guard. "When did you get so soft?"

"Soft? Please, I enjoy beating on you!" he corrected in as sadistic a voice as he could muster. "Don't you enjoy these little games of ours?"

888

Matt shook his head, not really surprised that there was nothing there. Something in his gut had told him that they wouldn't find Vegnagun so easily. Nothing ever seemed to work out that easily.

"So does the empty hole mean that this whole thing was a setup?" Sakura questioned. "Maybe to lure us all here so that Lusniec could kill all the heirs at once?"

"Something's coming," Nick said suddenly. Matt was about to ask what Nick was talking about when a familiar roar shot up out of the hole.

"You're kidding me…" Seph whispered in shock.

"What is it, other then really big?" Nick questioned as he watched a giant, arrogant looking bipedal dragon landed on the platform they were standing on.

"An Aeon!" Rikku shouted, her green eyes a mixture of shock and horror as Bahamut roared again.

"An Aeon…" Yuna whispered as she stepped in between Bahamut and the group and threw her arms out. "You must stop!"

"Are you insane?" Matt demanded as he pulled her back as gently as possible, but quickly. "Yevon summoned Anima before, now he's summoned Bahamut to get rid of us. Is he really that stupid?"

"Matt! I can't summon Leviathan!" Seph shouted suddenly. Matt's eyes went wide as he tried to summon Yamu. Nothing. He tried to summon up a Chidori, but he was barely able to get a few sparks to generate.

"Oh yeah, this is bad," He agreed. Without their powers he and Seph would be a lot less useful, obviously, but if Seph couldn't form strands of water then he was going to be almost useless. "Can yo-"

"Only two," Seph stated, already a step ahead. He had a pair of his pendulums in hand as Bahamut decided that it was tired of waiting. Five balls of pure, purple energy appeared in the air around it before launching towards the group.

888

Paine felt the ground rock underneath her, and for a fraction of a second she wondered what was going on. And it cost her when Baralai shouldered her into the wall, drew a concealed dagger, and drove it into her leg. She gasped as pain flared through her right leg, more pain then she should have felt. She'd been stabbed a few times in the pasts, but none of them had ever hurt so badly.

"I bet that hurts, doesn't it Paine?" She glared at him, since when did he use a poisoned dagger? "Time to die!"

She watched as his spearhead came flying towards her in an almost slow-motion manner. The poison was taking affect, and she was in trouble. She rolled to the left but her reactions were sluggish. She avoided a fatal blow, but the spearhead drove through her shoulder, pinning her to the wall. She cried out in pain, dropping her sword and clutching at the wound helplessly. She watched as Baralai produced another one of his daggers. Paine grimaced; this was going to hurt a lot. The dagger dove into her stomach and she screamed in pain. Not just because it hurt, but because as Baralai did that, she pulled the dagger he'd used earlier out of her leg, and jammed it into his side.

888

Ryan dusted his shoulder off. He couldn't shake the feeling that Lusniec was evading the question. Nor, for that matter, could he get rid of the feeling that something about the angel was out of place. His speed, strength, everything about him was way above what it had used to be, but at the same time Lusniec's emotions were so much easier to read that it was almost disturbing. He'd never really been able to read Lusniec's emotions before; it was always just hate and anger. Ryan had relied on his knowledge of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style when fighting against Lusniec.

"I'll ask you again Lusniec, what happened to you?" He demanded.

"You're really starting to get boring, you know that?" Lusniec shot back, a sneer appearing on his formerly calm face. But even that seemed odd to him, like Lusniec was trying to hide something behind the sneer. "Don't get distracted!" Lusniec shouted as he slashed Wind Cutter along the ground, launching a good section of the floor at him. He did a half back-flip over it and grinned as Lusniec passed under him. The angel had followed the Do Ryu Sen up with a Kuzu Ryu Sen.

"Ryu Tsui Sen!" He shouted as he pushed himself off the ceiling and towards Lusniec's back.

The angel spun at the last moment, avoiding the blow entirely before shouting: "Ryu Kan Sen!" He ducked under the counter attack and jammed the pummel into Lusniec's ribs before jumping away. "Well now, you're not quite as boring as I expected."

"Glad to surprise," Ryan replied with a forced smile.

888

"Scatter!" Sakura shouted as the balls of energy Bahamut had created shot towards the group. Matt couldn't have agreed more. He had no idea if their shields would still work or not, and he wasn't too fond of the idea of testing it out against Bahamut.

However, while everyone else scattered away from the Aeon, Matt charged towards it. Ducking past a ball of energy he brought Off-hand around in a deadly arch. The blade slammed into the Aeon's leg with enough force to cut cleanly through Bahamut's rough, armor-like skin. The Aeon roared in pain, kicking out with the same leg he'd just wounded and sending him flipping backwards towards the others.

"That… hurt," He muttered when he finally came skidding to a halt.

"You ok?" Nick asked as Matt stood up slowly.

"I just got kicked by a dragon, what the hell do you think?" Matt asked, shooting his friend an incredulous look.

"Good to know you're ok," Nick replied with a slight grin.

"Yeah… solo attacks aren't going to work everyone," Matt declared in a certain voice. Nobody doubted that after seeing what had happened to him. "So… ready Nick?"

"God I hate these things," Nick complained. "Yeah, I suppose so."

"Good, let's go." With that the two charged Bahamut.

888

Paine felt a small pang of sorrow as Baralai stumbled away from her. Snarling he ripped the poison dagger out of his side and went to throw it. But the poison was fast working, and halfway through his throw his fingers went numb and he dropped the knife. "Damn you… You'll pay for this!" He shouted as he began to make his way down the hallway slowly. Paine wanted to chase after him, wanted to finish the job she'd started, but the poison was in full effect. The only feeling that wasn't dulled was the throbbing pain in her shoulder, and her body felt like it was getting heavier with each passing second. She had to do something fast.

Without really thinking about it, Paine grabbed Baralai's staff and pulled as hard as she could. Accompanied by a scream of pain the blade came out of her shoulder, and Paine nearly collapsed as the pain doubled. Struggling to stay conscious and leaning on the weapon she'd just freed for support, Paine slowly began to make her way down the hallway towards where she hoped Yuna was.

888

Nick grunted as Matt jumped on his back and then, with a shout, pushed off and launched himself at the giant Aeon. Without slowing down he brought Lightning Edge around, slamming it into the other side of the leg he'd injured earlier. As the Aeon picked its leg up to kick him again, but before it could kick him Nick jabbed the spear end of his weapon into the Aeon. With a roar of pain the Aeon grabbed for Nick, but the hockey-stick wielding fighter was too quick. By the time Bahamut's hand had moved to its chest he had already pulled his weapon free and back flipped safely away.

A move that left Matt as the sole target of the Aeon's anger. He grabbed Lightning Edge, planning to get away and regroup, but Bahamut jumped into the air and sent him flying back towards the group. As he tumbled through the air he managed to level himself out. That however presented him with two challenges. The first was he couldn't see where he was going, and the other was when his momentum ran out he was going to slam into the ground face first. Before he could do anything about either of his problems something thin connected with his boots.

888

'_Oh hell no_,' Nick thought as he watched Matt flying towards him through the air. He didn't have time to dodge, so instead he spun around, causing Seph and Sakura to drop to the ground to avoid being hit, and by the time he'd completed the spin Matt was practically on top of him. He barely managed to get enough of another rotation in to cause Matt to hit his stick rather then him. He watched as Matt's knees bend and then launch him forward.

"What the hell is that?" Seph demanded as he watched Matt drive Lightning Edge into one of Bahamut's shoulders. A spray of blood accompanied another roar of pain as Matt dropped to the ground and pulled his other axe free, jumping away from Bahamut as the Aeon dropped to all fours.

"Oh no… Mega Flare," Yuna whispered in shocked horror. "Everyone, run!"

"Why?" Nick demanded. He didn't know what a Mega Flare was. When the wheel on the Dragon's back began to spin, which in turn energy to gather in Bahamut's mouth. "Oh, that can't be good," instead of running in the opposite direction, Nick charged straight for Matt who was already cupping his hands together. The second his foot was in Matt's hand the thunder god launched him up with all his considerable strength.

888

"Wind Cutter!" Lusniec shouted, and Ryan was barely able to roll to the side to avoid being cut in half by the attack. Using the momentum of his spin Ryan slashed at the back of angel, forcing Lusniec to dive forward and out of Shinagami's striking range to avoid having his spine severed.

Before he had even hit the ground he heard Ryan shout, "Do Ryu Sen!" Lusniec winced and shielded himself as best he could in the fraction of a second before pieces of the floor began pelting him. And before that attack was even over Ryan was in front of him, using Lusniec's shield to protect him from his own attack. Cursing, Lusniec twisted to the side as best he could, pushing off the ground and above the last of the Do Ryu Sen. Only, Ryan was there too, the pummel of his sword slamming into Lusniec's back with nearly spine-shattering force.

'_This could be going better_,' Lusniec thought as he landed and slashed the air above him, expecting to find Ryan about to hit him with a Ryu Tsui Sen, but again Ryan wasn't where Lusniec expected him to be. He'd barely seen the blur of color passing him in time to avoid being beheaded from behind. As he spun around to guard against another assault all he saw was the ground where Ryan had been standing exploded as the teen disappeared yet again. Lusniec stepped to the left, barely avoiding impalement, and slashed down at Ryan's exposed back. There was no way for him to avoid at least getting hit this time.

And yet again the ground exploded and Ryan disappeared. This time, although frustrated that Ryan had managed to dodge him yet again, Lusniec was ready for his disappearing act. His eyes darted around the room as he followed Ryan's movements. When Ryan landed behind him, he spun around in time for Shinagami and Wind Cutter to crash into each other in a see of purple and white energy.

"What the hell is this!" Lusniec shouted as he tried to pull Wind cutter out of the lock unsuccessfully as the gathering magic grew more intense. Within seconds the magic was so powerful that the walls and ground around them were practically exploding, and the sheer power was causing more harm to both of them then either had caused to each other throughout the whole fight.

"We have to separate and sheath them!" Ryan shouted a second too late. Just as the two went to separate the blades everything went white and purple as the magic reached it's explosive end, sending the two fighters flying into opposite walls at the far end of the corridor, each more then fifty feet away. "Lusniec?" Ryan questioned as he pulled himself out of his wall. When nobody replied he took the chance to examine himself, and wonder how he hadn't been hurt at all by the blast.

'_Duh, Wind Cutter's a Holy weapon_,' he berated himself silently. '_Half the blast must've been Holy energy. It must've healed all the damage I took from the rest of the explosion_.' He felt a pang of regret that their fight had been cut short, but at least now he had Wind Cutter back. Collecting the two swords, and quickly putting Shinagami in the sheath when both swords started to glow, Ryan began to sprint down the hall in what he hoped was the direction of the others.

888

"Paine!" Rikku shouted in shock as the warrior stumbled towards the group. "What happened to you?"

"Baralai… poison…" Paine managed to whisper before the loss of blood and poison caused her to collapse into the Al Bhed's arms.

"Yunie! Paine's poisoned!" Rikku shouted in as calm a voice as she could manage with a Mega Flare being powered up behind her, and her friend so weak she couldn't stand any more because of poison.

"What? Paine's poisoned?" Yuna asked in shock as she turned and saw Paine for herself. "Paine, hold on! Come on Rikku, we have to get her out of the path of the Mega Flare!"

"But I can't carry her on my own!" Rikku replied frantically until Seph walked over, lifted Paine up into his arms gently, and started around the corner.

"I think we should leave Bahamut to Matt, Sakura, and Nick anyway," Seph explained as the three of them jogged around the nearest corner. Seph set Paine down against the wall gently, and once Rikku, Yuna, Melody, and JT were around the corner a wall of water started to rise.

Seph didn't miss the blur that jumped over it, and he prayed for Nick, Matt, and Sakura's sakes that it was Ryan and not Lusniec.

888

Nick grimaced as he landed on Bahamut's head. As he drove the spear end of his weapon into the dragon's mouth, pinning the two jaws shut, the wheel on Bahamut's back stopped spinning. '_That was easy_,' he thought to himself.

Until a giant, scaly hand reached up, grabbed him, and tossed him over the edge. Nick's eyes widened in terror as he flew towards the wall. Twisting in mid-air he got his legs behind him in time to absorb the force of his collision with the wall on the far side of the chamber. With little other choice he pushed off as hard as he could, desperately hoping that he'd be able to make it back to the ledge even though he knew it was an impossible jump. Maybe if he was a master of Hiten Mitsurugi Style like Lusniec or Ryan, or could walk on the water in the air like Seph, but at the moment it was a jump that Nick knew he couldn't make.

He started to fall and he knew he was dead. He'd managed to make it halfway, an amazing feat for someone without powers or the Hiten Mitsurugi style, but not nearly enough. With a string of curses he shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out eight small grenades. At least if he was going to die, he could give Sakura-chan and Matt a chance to finish Bahamut off, even if only a small one.

Just as he threw the bombs a blur came diving towards him from the ledge Matt and Sakura-chan were standing on. He closed his eyes, passing it off as the eyes of a soon-to-be dead man playing tricks on him. When a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders his eyes shot open to find Ryan grinning at him. "What the hel-" He was cut of mid-sentence when Ryan's foot slammed into his stomach, knocking the air out of him and launching him up and over the ledge.

He hit the ground running, and Matt was charging him head first. Nick cupped his hands and when Matt jumped into them launched him as high as he could before stumbling backwards.

888

'_Great, I saved Nick. Now what about me_?' Ryan wondered as he went flying towards the far wall. He wasn't sure if he could fly, so he wasn't willing to risk his life on that, and he was fairly certain even he couldn't make the jump from so far below the ledge. That left him with only two options, neither of which he particularly cared for. Drop into the darkness below and end up who knows where or dead, or keep himself from falling.

Just before he hit the wall he drove Wind Cutter halfway into the wall. When he hit the wall he hopped up onto the flat of the blade and considered his options. He might be able to make the jump if he could get higher, but he wasn't entirely sure how to do that. He glanced down at Shinagami, considering using the short sword as a way to get to another level. God knew it was the best idea he had, but he wondered how long he could keep them unsheathed and near each other before they caused another explosion.

"It's the only thing I have, regardless," He told himself as he drew the short sword, thrust it into the wall, and began his long climb upwards.

888

In a spray of blood Lightning Edge drove itself into Bahamut's skull. "Thundaga!" Matt shouted, the spell slamming into the edge as he ripped Nick's weapon free, pyreflies leaking from the wound. The mighty Aeon roared its protest before bursting into pyreflies and dropping Matt to the ledge. "Nick, what happened after you went over the cliff?"

Nick opened his mouth to reply but stopped when Matt's other axe came tumbling up over the edge of the ledge. "He did," Nick stated, nodding behind Matt as a grin graced Sakura's deceptively delicate features.

Matt turned his head and found Ryan standing there, shaking his head in sarcastic disgust. "Such unwieldy weapons you use. No wonder you're so freakin' strong," the angel joked with a playful grin. Matt raised an eyebrow slowly, wondering when Ryan had gotten into the room.

"When did you get a second sword?" Matt questioned when he noticed Ryan was holding a sword other then Shinagami.

"Oh this? Matt, I'm hurt. You don't remember this?" Matt's eyes widened in shock at Ryan's question.

"You got Wind Cutter back?" He asked hopefully.

"You thought I'd lose to Lusniec?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I didn't think you'd be able to get it unless you pried it out of his cold, dead hand," Matt admitted. When Ryan didn't say anything Matt began to wonder if that had, in fact, happened.

* * *

Ok, well I hope you all enjoyed! Don't forget to review though, I don't have enough as it is. And thank you for those who review every time, you all rock! Anyway, review, and don't forget to read those stories I mentioned at the beginning! 


	15. Grand Finale

Grand Finale

Paine groaned as her eyelids fluttered open. Where was she? What had happened to Baralai, and the others? Had they found Vegnagun?

"Hey, you're awake. That's good," Yuna said cheerfully, 'causing Paine to open her eyes up completely. "When we found you we weren't sure if we'd be able to heal you. You'd lost a lot of blood."

"Where are we?" Paine asked slowly as she looked around the dull gray room for some answer. It all looked familiar, but she couldn't recall why as Yuna forced her to lie back down gently.

"We're on the Celsius. Just relax. The effects of the poison will wear off soon. Until then just rest, ok?" Paine nodded, closed her eyes, and allowed herself to drift back into a gentle, dreamless sleep.

888

"So she woke up?" Yuna nodded and Rikku felt relief flood through her. "That's a relief. Now where to, Yunie?"

"Well, LeBlanc's trying to find Vegnagun at the moment, so we'll know as soon as that happens. And I'm sure the Youth League will be looking for it as well," Matt put in as the two came around the corner and onto the bridge. "But for the moment why don't we stop by Besaid?" Everyone gave him a weird look and he rolled his eyes. "We should tell Lu and Wakka about this," He explained. "Something like this… they're going to be pissed if they find out about this from someone else."

"He's right ya know, Yunie. Lu's not gonna be happy that we fought Bahamut to begin with. It's probably not the best of ideas to try anything else without letting them know what's up," Rikku stated.

"That's a good point," Ryan agreed as he rested his chin on Rikku's head. "Besides, I think she'd be happy if we came back for a visit."

"To Besaid then!" Yuna said with a grin.

888

"Well, Yuna, it's good to see you," Lu said with a smile when she saw Yuna. "Oh, it seems you've brought several friends with you again, too."

"Sorry Lu. We just thought we'd stop by and check in. Wouldn't want you to worry _too _much," Yuna said with an innocent smile.

"Yeah, but you will," Matt said with a grin.

"Oh no, what did you get yourselves into now?" Lulu asked in a surprisingly joking tone.

"Well… we ended up fighting-"

"Lulu, the fiends are back, but Wakka's not in the village!" Someone shouted interrupting Yuna's sentence.

"Fiends?" Matt and Ryan shared an excited glance. "Yuna, we'll leave the explanations up to you. We'll go handle the fiends," Matt said as he and Ryan darted out of the room, Sakura yelling at them in Japanese as she followed.

"They've certainly come a long way since the day I saved them from a coyote…" Lulu noted with a chuckle.

"There's a fiend problem here?" Rikku asked in shock.

Lu nodded sadly. "It just started about three days ago," She explained. "They just started pouring out of the temple. Wakka and some of the others drove them off, but right now they're making sure they get all of the ones that escaped. Not that it really matters with all of you here."

"That's right. Between the three of them, we've got enough fire-power to take out half the Youth League," Seph stated rather firmly. "And I'm talking about in seconds."

"Well, seeing Matt and Ryan should help calm the villagers down, even if there are fiends around," Lulu pointed out. "But the person who would calm them the most is you, Yuna. Why don't you go out, have a walk around? It'll do the others some good."

"You think so?" Lulu responded to the question with a simple nod. "Alright then, but first we need to talk."

888

"What a let down…" Matt complained as he spun, each one of his axes catching a different pair of coyotes in the jaw.

"Besaid never did have challenging fiends," Ryan agreed as he jumped over one coyote, slashing Wind cutter through its spine as it passed under him. "Not to mention we have two years more experience then we did the first time we came here."

"Yeah, I still have a problem believing that you guys had a problem with these fiends," Sakura admitted as she shattered a coyote's jaw with ease. "It's really kind of sad…"

"Man, cut us some slack. The closest thing to a fight we'd ever experienced was beating the crap out of each other from time to time with plastic light sabers," Matt replied as he beheaded another coyote.

"Hey, you guys look like you're having fun, ya!" Wakka called cheerfully as his Blitzball came flying in and crushed one poor coyote's head into the ground.

"Yeah, so stop stealing it!" Matt shouted with a laugh as he grabbed the last coyote by the neck and squeezed until he heard a gratifying _pop_ from the fiend. "Hey, the Auroch's round here?"

"Yeah brudda. They're down at the beach, practicing!" Wakka exclaimed cheerfully. "Why don't ya go give'em a visit, I'm sure the boys' be glad to see you guys. And I _know _that they'd be glad to get to know Sakura better," Wakka added, casting the goddess a wink that caused her to blush and reach for Matt's hand. "Oh, looks like that ain't gonna go over too well," Wakka noted with a laugh.

"Why don't you go see Yuna? She's back at your house," Ryan suggested as Matt led the two towards the beach.

"Oh, Yuna's back? I guess I might have to," Wakka said as he retrieved his Blitzball. "Careful on your way over if ya go off the road, ya? Not that they'll be any problem for you three, but there's a lot of fiends out there today. Stay on your toes, ya?"

"Will do," Ryan replied as they parted ways.

888

Jassu, Letty, Datto, and Keepa watched in amusement as Botta's botched attempt at the Jecht Shot sent the Blitzball sailing out of the ocean and most of the way up the beach. "Looks like you're going for a jog, Botta!" They roared until a young woman with blue hair that shimmered in some spots but not others, and carrying a pair of tonfas on her belt stepped forward and picked the ball up.

Botta grinned, knowing she wasn't someone from the island. Maybe she needed a tour, or a place to spend the night. At any rate, at least he didn't have to get out of the water and walk all the way up the beach. "Excuse me, miss? Could you throw me that ball please?" The girl smirked, and twirled the ball on her finger absently. "Hey, miss, you gonna pass me the ball or not, ya?"

The girl rolled her eyes and tossed the ball behind her. "Oh, she's not likin' you too much, eh Botta?" Keepa called out with a laugh as a grumbling Botta got out of the water and started up the beach while a tall guy came out holding the ball.

And promptly dove to the side as the Blitzball went sailing towards the rest of the Aurochs at knee level. Botta glanced behind him and found Keepa groaning as he let the ball down. Where had that guy learned how to shoot?

"Hey, who're you, ya?" Botta called out as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Botta, I'm hurt. You don't recognize me?" The tall guy with brown hair called as another, somewhat shorter guy with dirty blonde hair came around the corner sheathing a sword.

"No hat," The smaller guy said simply.

888

"Wakka, there you are. I've been looking for you," Beclem stated as Wakka walked into the village. The former captain of the Aurochs let out a groan, Beclem was the last person he wanted to deal with, especially when Yuna was around. Dealing with the arrogant Youth League member always left Wakka in a bad mood.

"I'm a little busy now, ya? Gotta go see an old friend or Lu'll kill me," Wakka said without stopping.

"Wakka, it's about the fiends. More of them have been heard inside the temple. We're going to burn it down," Beclem explained.

"What? You can't do that, ya! That's going too far!" Wakka shouted at the startled Youth League representative.

Once he'd regained his composure Beclem gave Wakka a glare before asking, "You'd rather put your family, and your entire village in danger then burn down an old, rundown temple?"

888

"The fiends are coming from inside the temple, right?" Wakka's voice held so much resentment in it that Yuna couldn't help but run outside to look. "All we gotta do is stop the fiends, ya?" Before Beclem could answer Wakka sprinted inside the temple.

"What was that all about?" Yuna questioned Beclem.

"Wakka doesn't want us to burn this temple down. He's inside fighting the fiends, when using fire would be so much simpler. It's not like praying ever did anyone any good," Beclem said with a sneer towards the temple. "You defeated Sin. You should know that." Yuna shook her head in disgust as she started up the stairs towards the temple. "You're going to help Wakka? I won't wait much longer," Beclem warned.

Yuna whirled around and gave the man so fierce a glance that he stepped backwards. "Do you really want to see it burn that badly?"

"It's for the safety of the village," Beclem argued.

"It's so you can remove the last few traces of Yevon from Spira, because you don't believe in it," Nick countered calmly before ushering Yuna and Rikku into the temple.

Beclem glared and watched them go until he realized someone was standing next to him. "You're not going to help them?"

Seph cast Beclem an incredulous glance. "Not my problem, and it's not like they're going to need me to baby sit them." The former assassin replied before walking away.

888

"It looks like Seph doesn't want to help us," Nick noted as Yuna led the group through the cloisters.

"No surprise there. It's not like we'll need him to take out a few fiends," Yuna explained calmly. "Wakka!" Yuna shouted as they rounded a corner and found the man leaning against a wall.

"You ok?" Rikku demanded.

"Just a few scratches, eh? Nothin' to worry about," Wakka said with a chuckle. "Forget about me. Whatever's controlling them is down there. Take that bad-boy out!"

"Works for me," Nick admitted with a hint of anticipation in his green eyes.

"And we won't need fire, either!" Yuna said cheerfully. "Wakka, stay here."

"Why?" Wakka demanded.

"Wouldn't want you to over do it, _daddy_," Rikku explained cheerfully. Wakka shook his head helplessly as the three continued on their way after healing him. "So, what do you think is controlling the fiends?"

"Another giant thing?" Nick suggested, thinking back to the match with Bahamut.

"I hope not…" Yuna said quietly. "This is the temple where I got my first Aeon, Valefor…"

"Wow… that would really suck…" Nick agreed as they went down the elevator.

However, when they stepped off the elevator they were faced with none other then a dark version of Valefor. "Valefor?" Yuna asked, her eyes widening in shock.

"I'm gonna guess this is another Aeon?" Nick questioned as he looked at the bird that looked startlingly similar to Kaze.

"An Aeon?" Wakka asked in disbelief

"No, something's not right…" Yuna said after a few seconds.

"Like the fact that it looks like it's about to attack?" Nick asked calmly, readying a flash bang grenade.

"Could be it…" Wakka agreed as he readied his Blitzball and wished he'd taken World Champion instead. He really could've used it right about now. He didn't enjoy the thought of taking on an Aeon at all.

Valefor opened its mouth and energy began to gather in it. "Geez, what is it with Aeons and using energy attacks that come from their mouths?" Nick questioned.

"Wha?" Wakka demanded, tearing his eyes away from the Aeon to look at Yuna.

"Pay attention!" Nick shouted as he tackled Wakka, knocking both into the elevator just as a line of energy passed through the spot Wakka had just been standing in.

"Thanks brudda," Wakka offered as they stood up and dusted themselves off. "Now get in there!"

"No need to tell me twice," Nick said with a grin as he hurled the flash bang in his hand at the Aeon. "Cover your eyes!"

When the bright light was gone Valefor was thrashing its wings about madly. "What the hell did you do, brudda!" Wakka wondered as he tried to blink the bright spots in his eyes away.

"It's called a flash grenade," Nick explained calmly as Valefor screeched in pain, firing black magic and energy off randomly, forcing the group to seek shelter behind anything they could find.

888

Rikku watched in disbelief as Nick strode out into the maelstrom of destruction with an eerie calmness. "Nick, what are you doing? You'll get killed, get back here!" She shouted, but Nick ignored her. "Yunie, he's going to get himself killed!"

The brunette Summoner nodded slowly. Suddenly Nick ducked down under a blast of energy and dashed forward. The ground exploded as a flurry of spells of every level bombarded the ground around him, and Wakka, Rikku, and Yuna watched his suicidal charge helplessly until a Thundara spell brought a section of the wall in-between them crashing to the ground, hiding him from view.

"We gotta help da brudda, ya?" Wakka suggested as he dashed forward, climbing the rubble with startling speed.

Only to stop a few feet short of the top abruptly as Valefor let out a long pained cry.

888

Nick ignored the pain that flared up in his leg when one of the blasts that Valefor fired brushed against his leg. As soon as he was close enough he'd impale this overgrown bird, then maybe look around for someone to spend the evening with.

He ducked under a thrashing clawed foot and shoved the spear half of his weapon towards the Aeon's neck. He was about to let it go when it came to a sudden stop, and when he looked up he discovered why.

The Aeon had grabbed the shaft with its beak, and when it closed its mouth tighter the wood snapped, cut nearly clean in two, leaving Nick with the kama-like end. This wasn't going to end well; Nick knew that much already as he ducked his head and rolled under a wing aimed at his head.

Apparently Valefor hadn't been quite as blind as it had let him think it was. Cursing himself for falling for it so easily he flipped forward and into the wall, landed with his feet against that, and flipped backwards to land on what passed as the Aeon's shoulders. Before it had the chance to knock him off he flipped forward again, much faster this time, and tore the Aeon's back apart in a spray of blood as he continued to flip until he landed on the ground. By that time the Aeon had three large gashes in its back, and each one was bleeding profusely.

With a screech of pain and rage Valefor whirled around and launched a Watera spell at him from point blank range, knocking him backwards a dozen feet from the sheer force of the impact and slamming him into the wall. He grunted, fairly certain he'd just had a pair of ribs, at least, shatter. Not that it mattered to Valefor who was gathering energy to hurl another spell at him. Nick grabbed the nearest rock as he hissed in pain and stood up. Just as Valefor was about to unleash its spell he hurled the rock at it, allowing himself a feral grin as the jagged make-shift weapon landed in the Aeon's eye, blinding it and causing it to botch its spell.

Ignoring the pain surging through his chest he charged forward, jumped on top of a pile of rock, and then launched himself at the Aeon, only to have it whirl around and bat him into yet another wall with it's wing. Before he even hit the wall a blast of fire launched towards him, and only the fact that he pushed off the ceiling as hard as he could and nearly shattering his shoulder when he landed kept him from being burnt alive.

As soon as he was on his feet again he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out something he hadn't expected to use any time soon. As his desperate sprint around the Aeon showed him his only chance of surviving the upcoming explosion, the collapsed rock wall with a tiny gap between the top of the rocks and the wall, he chucked the grenade behind him. In two desperation filled leaps he reached the top of the pile and shoved himself through the tiny gap, ignoring the skin it took, and screaming: "Everyone get down now!" at the top of his lungs.

888

Botta watched the two newcomers in amazement. They were almost as good as Wakka and Tidus, and they were clearly not amateurs. And the way they spoke and dressed seemed so familiar.

But why was he thinking about that when there was the gorgeous, blue haired girl with them. She was exquisite, far better looking then any of the women on Besaid, with the possible exception of Lulu. Her eyes practically radiated an untold power, and even though she had a flawless body he couldn't help but be drawn to them.

"Can I help you, Botta-san?" The woman asked calmly as an amused twinkle found its way into her eyes.

"Uhhh… no ma'am," Botta stuttered out as the blood rushed to his cheeks. He cursed himself for not being able to talk to her as he ripped his attention away from her and turned to watch the Aurochs practicing.

And was promptly knocked underwater by a fast moving, low flying blitzball. After getting his head back above the water several seconds later he was ready to murder the idiot that had beamed him. He stopped short though when he saw the smoke rising from the direction of the town.

"That's coming from the village!" The woman shouted as she stood up, threw her shoes on, and started sprinting off quickly. The brown haired guy came ripping out of the water at full speed, scooping up his axes off the ground as he sprinted after the alluring stranger.

"Hey, where'd the blonde guy go?" Keepa asked as he turned slowly in the water, unable to locate the last member of the unknown group. A splash of water drew their attention to the beach where the man's swords disappeared in what seemed to be a miniature sandstorm heading towards the town.

"I think we'd better get back to town…" Batto said as the Aurochs started swimming towards the beach as one.

888

"What's going on?" Lulu demanded of Becalm when she stormed out of her hut and found him standing in front of a temple with smoke billowing out of it.

"I know not. Perhaps Yuna and Wakka realized fire was the best method to rid us of these fiends," Becalm offered as Lulu continued to stalk towards him.

"With themselves still inside?" she shrieked at the man. How could he be so stupid? As if dealing with his desire to see the temple as little more then blackened rubble wasn't bad enough, the sheer stupidity of his suggestion was nearly enough to make the black mage lash out at him with a couple of Flare spells.

"Lu! What's going on, you can see smoke fo-" Lulu turned in time to see Ryan's jaw fall slack at the sight of the temple. "Fryd eh dra hysa uv Spira rybbaat rana (What in the name of Spira happened here)!"

"We don't know. It just suddenly started billowing out smoke," Lu informed him through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at Becalm. The swordsmen didn't miss the look, and added one of his own in for no reason other then to help Lulu pressure the man into telling her whatever she was trying to get out of him.

"It wasn't me you two, so stop glaring at me," Becalm said in what seemed to be an attempt to sound threatening.

"Screw this, I'm going in," Ryan muttered, forcibly shoving Becalm out of the way as he walked towards the temple.

"You can't, it may be dangerous. The fire may be spreading," Becalm stated calmly as he grabbed Ryan's arm. Ryan narrowed his eyes at the appendage as Matt and Sakura came sprinting into the village.

"I'm normally peaceful, but my friends are in there. If you want that arm," He pointed to the arm before continuing, "to stay attached to your body then I suggest removing it. _Now_."

"You wouldn't. I've heard about you, you're the guardian that doesn't hurt people," Becalm said with a superior grin.

"Yeah, well. Two years is a long time, especially when spent _killing _the entire time," Ryan replied before nodding towards Lulu. "Besides, Lu can cauterize it so you don't bleed to death."

"And Sakura here can freeze it so it doesn't get infected as well," Matt added, having long since caught onto what Ryan was doing. Both of them knew that Ryan wouldn't even consider it; he could incapacitate Becalm in any number of ways if he wanted to, and none of them were fatal. Lu probably knew it too, although her face never changed, and Sakura's shocked and unsettled face was very much real. All in all, Becalm decided it best to let go of the seemingly unstable swordsman.

"Good choice brudda, ya?" Wakka's voice rang out as he, carrying an unconscious Nick on his back, Rikku, and Yuna came walking out of the smoke filled entrance to the temple, coughing and walking slowly but very much alive.

"Geez, what happened to you four?" Ryan said as Rikku jumped into his arms happily.

"It's something we need to talk about in private brudda," Wakka said grimly. "But first let's get this guy somewhere comfortable. He's earned it, right girls?"

"Yeah," Yuna agreed with a hint of sadness in her voice.

888

Nick shook his head to try and clear the shadows from his vision while he tried to figure out where he was. He'd seen this swirling, shadow filled void before but he wasn't sure where. It was looking at the face of an old friend that he hadn't seen in years, welcome and warm but not completely familiar. His sight seemed better, sharper, to the point where even as the shadows swirled and shifted in varying degrees of darkness he could tell where each individual shadow began and ended.

Even as familiar as he thought he was with the place, being there left him with a feeling of dread. As comfortable as he felt in shadows, to the point where he was comfortable even when Auron wasn't, there was something off about these ones, about this place. Everything about it radiated an aura of dread and despair, and as he walked around to find a way out his seemed to tingle and crawl it's protest at being in the place. There was no sound, no light, and no movement other then the twisting of the shadows. He was completely alone, lost in the darkness of a place he'd never been before, and couldn't wait to leave.

"Calm down Nick, you'll be ok. It's just dark out, that's all," Nick muttered to himself, but his voice sounded thin, distant, and weak even to himself. There was no conviction or belief in it as he turned in a slow circle, trying not to shudder. There was something completely wrong about this place, and the fact that the whispers were growing stronger, but more distorted didn't ease his mind at all.

"_Your friends are marked._" The voice was quiet and almost insubstantial, but the second it started to rasp out the words all of the distorted whispers stopped, and all of the twisting, quivering shadows did as well. Even though it was raspy and weak, something about it radiated power and alarms were going off in his mind.

He had to get out of where ever he was, or he had the sickening feeling that he was going to die. But at the same time he wasn't sure he could leave. It was talking about his friends being marked for something, but what? "What're they marked for?"

"_Death._" The voice replied in its insubstantial tone.

"What?" Nick asked in shock as the shadows began to fade.

"_They will all die. I will see to that personally_." The voice stated as firmly as possible with it's voice, the last of the shadows fading to leave him standing disoriented in the middle of the street outside of Lulu's house.

'What the hell was that? Why are my friends marked for death? Where the hell _was _I' Nick wondered as he turned in a slow circle, eyeing each shadow warily.

"Hey, you ok?" JT questioned, snapping Nick out of his slow examination of the surrounding area.

"Bad dream I guess…" Nick said slowly when he didn't find anything. He knew it was a lie, and he knew that JT probably knew that, but he didn't care. The thought of trying to explain that dream to someone didn't sit well with him, and his friends were more the capable of handling themselves in nearly any situation. His nerves were just shot from that close call with Valefor.

"Hey, go get your stuff," JT said suddenly. "We're going."

"Going? Going where?" Nick questioned as they walked back into the house.

"Aeon hunting," JT replied with a smirk.

"What? More giant, abnormal monsters! Geez, what's with this place!" Nick demanded jokingly.

888

"So we're going to take out a giant, living suit of armor that was once a Yojimbo…?" Nick asked Ryan questioningly as they departed the airship with Brooke close behind.

"That's about the jist of it," Ryan admitted absently.

"What's up with you? Shouldn't you be psyched about this or something? A chance to test your sword skills against someone… thing that fought for a living and all that?" Nick questioned jokingly.

"This isn't the first time I've fought Yojimbo," Ryan said with a sigh. "I _had _hoped that I wouldn't have to do it again."

"Why…? That doesn't sound like you…" Nick pointed out slowly. If he'd expected Ryan to have any hopes that concerned fighting anyone other then Lusniec, he'd have expected them to be the exact opposite.

"Well, I nearly died for one… and Rikku's going to kill me if I get as beat up this time as I did last time," Ryan explained with a phantom of a smile.

"_You _nearly _died_ in a sword fight!" Nick asked in a shocked voice. "Against someone _other _then _Lusniec_!"

"Shit happens," Ryan replied indifferently.

"You're in a bad mood…" Brooke pointed out.

"I'd rather not fight someone who can kill me…" Ryan countered.

"Well, I guess that about you is normal, at least," Nick muttered as the three came to the opening of Yojimbo's cave to find dozens of people panicking at the entrance. "Oh boy, this doesn't look good…"

"Sir Ryan! You must help us, please! Our friends, our family, they're trapped inside the cave! There's fiends in there!" A man with a long gash across his chest and a broken arm shouted urgently.

"Geez… this is why people shouldn't be allowed down here," Ryan complained as the three took off into the cavern.

"Ryan, do you know how to get to the chamber of the Fayth?" Brooke asked as they rounded a corner and came face-to-face with the victims, encircled by several fiends that looked like skeletons inside of a slab of rock.

"Kill them?" Nick suggested.

"As if you'd listen if I said anything else," Ryan replied with a smirk as the two took off while Brooke pulled out her gun.

"You know me too well!" Nick shouted as he jumped up, landed on the top of the closest fiend, and flipped forward, not only cutting a deep gash in the rock part, but also placing himself between the terrified people.

"We've lived together for over 2 years," Ryan explained before rolling under a slash and cutting the offending arm off. "I should hope I know you rather well."

"Stop talking and just kill the damn fiends!" Brooke shouted as she fired on one of the fiends, blowing its head off.

"Yes Ma'am!" Nick replied jokingly before jumping on top of one of the fiends and jamming his blade down into its head, then jumping off, nearly splitting the fiend in half.

"Ryu Tsui Sen!" Ryan shouted as he dropped down behind a fiend, Wind Cutter splitting it in half.

"Are all of you ok?" Brooke asked the people as she holstered her gun.

"Thank you so much! All of you!" The people shouted before taking off towards the entrance.

"Well, I guess that just leaves Yojimbo…" Ryan pointed out slowly, a knot forming in his stomach for the first time. Could he _really _beat Yojimbo again? Was Yojimbo even back?

"Hey, you look worried. Relax, deep breathes," Nick joked as he hit Ryan on the arm. The angel looked at his friend like he was crazy. Yojimbo was one of the best swordsmen to ever live, not that Nick would know that. He doubted even Brooke knew that. Most people didn't even know Yojimbo existed. Most Summoners never got him. Not that Ryan was surprised given how greedy the Aeon was. "Ryan, you going to be ok?"

"We'll see," Ryan replied before stepping on a portal and willing himself into the chamber of the Fayth. The world warped and distorted as he was teleported through solid rock, and into the powerful Aeon's chamber. "Yojimbo! I'm calling you out!"

"Geez, for someone who wasn't sure if he could win, you really aren't wasting any time with this," Nick noted as he appeared on the portal, one arm wrapped protectively around Brooke.

"Doesn't look like anyone's been here in years," Brooke observed as the chamber.

"Yeah, probably not," Ryan admitted as fireflies began to form into a familiar shape.

"So this is it?" Nick asked with a side-long glance at his friend.

"Yeah. But first I want to ask him something," Ryan admitted as the Aeon finished its completion. "Yojimbo, why are the Aeon's attacking us? Two years ago you helped us to stop Yevon, now Yevon's back and you're fighting _against _us!" Ryan shouted, his anger flaring.

"I don't think he's listening!" Brooke shouted as a dozen throwing stars came flying towards the three.

"_You greedy piece of shit bodyguard! You don't _deserve _the title samurai!_" Ryan shouted as Wind Cutter and Shinagami flashed out, knocking the stars away effortlessly.

'Ryan's really worked up about this… what's gotten under his skin?' Nick wondered as he drew what was left of his weapon.

"Nick, wait a second," Brooke said as she kneeled down and touched the ground.

"What're you doing? This is no time to be drawing in the dirt, Brooke!" Nick shouted as the sounds of steel crashing against steel began echoing through the dimly lit chamber.

"Watch," Brooke said with a hint of mischief in her voice. Nick looked from her to the fight, and for a fraction of a second the entire cave light up as white lightning sprang up around him. "Here, try this!" Nick looked at Brooke and didn't believe what she was holding.

It had the head of a scythe, with a short shaft that ended in a spear head. "What's this for?"

"Well fighting history's best bodyguard with just that," she motioned to the remains of his old weapon with a slight smirk, "wouldn't be too bright. So I figured I'd make you something somewhat… better."

"Ahhh, I see. Thanks!" Nick said as he grabbed the new weapon and gave it an expert twirl. "Wow, well balanced, too…"

"Well, you aren't the first person I've made a weapon for," Brooke pointed out before nodding towards the fighting. "Now go give your friend a hand will ya? He looks like he could use the help."

Nick glanced at the fighting and understood what Brooke meant. Ryan had sheathed Wind Cutter, and was now dodging and blocking the almost continuous barrage of ranged projectiles, keeping him well out of range of a sword strike.

Nick saw it differently though. He knew all too well that range was never a concern for his sword wielding friend. Between that finger gun thing he had, the Wind Cutter, and the Do Ryu Sen Ryan could hit just about anyone from just about anywhere, within reason. Yojimbo was well within Ryan's striking distance, and Ryan was more then capable of pulling one of those off without getting hit by the shurikens and kunai Yojimbo was throwing. "Nick? _Hello_! Go help him!"

"I wonder if he really needs it…" Nick muttered as Ryan came flying at him. "Guess he does." Nick spun around, Ryan connecting with the shaft of his new weapon and then bouncing back towards Yojimbo.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji!" Ryan shouted as he spun around, kunai cutting superficial wounds along his arms, back, face, and chest, to deliver a blow the back of Yojimbo's neck, but the Aeon had different plans. Its Wakazashi shot out with startling speed, deflecting the attack with ease, then Yojimbo spun around and slammed an armored fist into Ryan's stomach, launching him head first into a rock wall which collapsed on him.

"Ryan!" Nick shouted as he dashed forward, rolling under a sword slash with ease, and stopping next to the pile of rocks over Ryan. "Ryan! You alive?" Nick's fears vanished when Ryan let out a pained moan. "Geez don't scare me like that ya moron," Nick muttered as he stood up to face the Aeon, twirling his new weapon with surprising skill. "Well, this looks like it's about to get a bit rough."

"Be careful!" Brooke ordered from the sidelines.

"It's a death match! If I was going to be _careful _I wouldn't be _fighting_!" Nick shot back as he knocked away several throwing knives.

"Nick, if you get killed I'm going to the Farplane and killing you again, so don't you dare die!" Brooke shouted.

"Worry about yourself for the time being, would you? I'll be fine!" Nick shouted as he charged in towards Yojimbo, ducking under the slash of the Aeon's sword once again. Without slowing down Nick slashed out with the scythe end, pierced the armor on the Aeon's chest, and tore the weapon free viciously. Pyreflies leaking out of his armor, Yojimbo staggered backwards, one hand holding his Wakazashi up defensively while the other covered the long cut across his chest. "See? Guy's a pushover. To beat Ryan that easily he must've just gotten lucky…" Nick muttered under his breath. Sure, Yojimbo was strong but he was too slow.

Even so, he'd just knocked Ryan out in a single punch. If he _did _get hit it'd be up to Brooke to stop the psychotic Aeon on her own. Nick wasn't going to risk that happening. 'Better to end the fight now and not let anyone else get dragged into it,' he decided as he raised his weapon and prepared for another charge.

Only to realize, as he was charging, that he'd done exactly what Yojimbo had wanted. The Aeon's short sword shot out at his stomach, and Nick stumbled to the left to avoid it, only to find the Aeon's Katana flashing in to end the fight. Off balanced and falling Nick did the only thing he could've done at the time and slashed out with his own weapon to try to cancel the attacks out. Yojimbo was stronger then he was though, and Nick found out just how much stronger as he went flying backwards, flipped over the Aeon's other arm, and shattered several ribs on impact with the ground.

Gasping in pain he rolled to the right, avoiding a sword to the gut but getting kicked in the ribs instead, sending a second bolt of pure white agony racing through his body. 'This is bad, very bad. I'm gonna die!' Nick thought as he struggled to get to his feet to put some distance, any amount of distance, between himself and the powerful Aeon.

"Nick, look out! Get out of the way!" The panic in Brooke's voice cut through the barrier of pain that had practically blinded him. Whipping around and letting out a scream of pain Nick's weapon connected with, and barely deflected, Yojimbo's Katana.

'Not good!' Nick thought as he struggled to his feet, using the wall for support. 'If this doesn't end soon I'm dead. God this blows…' Nick thought as possible options ran through his mind. There was no way he was going to beat Yojimbo at this rate. The pain of getting up alone was nearly enough to make him black out, so moving was out of the question, but if he didn't move he'd die, which was also out of the question. 'Think, think, think! There has to be _something _I can do! I _won't _die like this!'

"Nick, look out!" Brooke screamed as Yojimbo's Katana flashed through the air, its razor-sharp point plunging through Nick's stomach and splattering crimson blood across the wall he was propped against. "_Nick_!"

"I won't…" Nick whispered as his vision began to blur. "I won't… I won't… I won't die here!" Nick shouted as he grabbed the blade of the sword with his left hand, his right hand slashing out at Yojimbo's head with the scythe part. The instant that Yojimbo ducked Nick tightened his grip on the blade and pulled it out of the rock wall in one jerk, slamming it into the Aeon in the process. "I won't die against you!"

888

An ice-cold chill ran through Seph as he went to open the doors to Remiem temple. 'Oh man, not here, please not here,' he thought as he threw the doors open to reveal a petite, raven haired woman, shorter then he was, and surrounded by several dead fiends. "Damn it…"

At the sound of his voice the woman's head snapped back to face him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. Upon seeing him she scoffed and put her rapier away and placed a look of contempt on her face. "What are you doing here?" she demanded instantly.

"I imagine the same thing as you, though I find it hard to believe someone like you would be working for the good of Spira of her own free will," Seph said uneasily. "I take it there was nothing here then?"

The raven haired girl, not a day over 19, scoffed at the comment. "No, there wasn't. And you know I wouldn't help you if I didn't have to."

"Thank the gods for that," Seph replied.

"What was that?" The girl snapped, sending a chill down Seph's spine.

"Well you don't exactly have a good record when it comes to working together… with _anyone_," Seph pointed out dryly.

"And you have a record of not telling the truth," The girl replied sweetly, a fact that made Seph break out into a cold sweat as she walked towards him.

"Its part of being the top assassin in the world," Seph replied calmly, a slight smile on his face.

"Another lie," The girl snapped.

"What's a lie?" Matt's voice called out from just outside of the temple.

"You can't lie about who you are forever, Seph. Sooner or later you'll have to tell them the _truth_ about who you are," The girl hissed at him before stalking past him, and shoving Matt out of the way without breaking stride.

"Who was that?" Matt questioned as he rubbed his arm, a massive bruise forming already.

"Someone you don't want to cross. _Ever_," Seph said as he dropped to the ground, shaking visibly.

"Ok… well, rather then talk about some psycho chick, why not do what we came to do?" Sakura suggested.

"We don't need to. If she was here… we'll be lucky to find another living soul here, Aeon or not," Seph stated firmly.

"Well then. I guess we're done," Sakura said happily.

"Not likely. This isn't the only Fayth in the area," Matt said, glancing at Seph who raised an eyebrow.

"You… don't think they can win?" Seph asked, allowing some of his surprise to show.

"He's gotten better, but before he only won because of the Kuzu Ryu Sen, and Yojimbo's lack of understanding of the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. He won't be caught off guard this time," Matt said bluntly as he started towards the doors.

"I thought you said Ryan Master the Hiten Mitsurugi Style," Seph said as he and Sakura began to follow their fellow god.

"Yeah, but Ryan once said that even the "perfect" attack, the final attack of the style, has a flaw. A fatal flaw against anyone on his level," Matt replied, glancing back at the assassin. "I'd say Yojimbo falls into that category, wouldn't you?"

"That attack has… a weakness? No it doesn't... it's the perfect attack!" Sakura argued as they walked out.

"I thought so too, Sakura. Ryan doesn't agree though. And apparently he's got his reasons…" Matt said in a worried voice.

"What aren't you telling us, Matt?" Seph questioned as they walked out.

"What're you talking about?" Matt asked without stopping.

"Yeah, Yojimbo's definitely strong, but Ryan's almost as strong as we are. There's no reason for you to be worried about him losing. You're not telling us the truth," Seph stated bluntly.

888

Brooke wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was, it was far from normal. Abnormal didn't even really cover it. The weapon she'd made for Nick wasn't in one piece anymore, rather it was connected by a jet black chain that absorbed light rather then reflecting it. And it never seemed to run out, either. Nick was launching that scythe at Yojimbo from across the room, and even when it missed it seemed to wrap around the Aeon and almost _burrow _into its arm before retracting to Nick's location, leaving black, criss-crossing marks across the armor.

But it didn't matter. Nick could barely stand up, and he'd lost a lot of blood. It was a miracle he'd even made it this far. It would only be a few more minutes before Nick passed out from blood loss, and then what was she supposed to do? If the Aeon was strong enough to beat Ryan and Nick, what was _she _going to do? She didn't have _nearly _enough combat experience for something like this. She'd only even come along because Nick had asked her to.

"Brooke… get out of… here…" Nick gasped as he slid down a wall and watched Yojimbo stalk forward helplessly.

"Nick! Run! Move! Crawl! Whatever, just get _out _of there!" Brooke shouted as she drew her gun.

888

"Nick! Run! Move! Crawl! Whatever, just get _out _of there!" Nick wanted nothing more then for _her _to get out of there. He'd never been afraid of dying before, and even now it didn't really bother him. Letting Brooke see him die, however, did.

"_Brooke_! Shut up and get the hell out of her-" Nick's breath caught in his throat. A wave of terror rushed through his body, so pure that he nearly chocked on it. His skin crawled as an animosity like he hadn't felt in years washed over him. 'No… not good… not good at all.' His mind raced as Yojimbo came to a stop standing over him and raised one of his swords. "Oh, you're kidding me. You're a swordsman and you can't even feel it? To hell with that, you aren't killing me!" Nick shouted as the spear end of his weapon out and impaled the Aeon through the stomach and stopping it dead in its tracks as pyreflies leaked out.

"Ryan! You have to help Nick!" Nick felt his heart skip a beat at the phrase.

"Brooke! Run! Get out of here!" He shouted, forcing as much urgency into his voice as he could as Yojimbo grabbed his weapon and pulled it out of his grasp. 'Damn it!'

888

"_Nick_!" Brooke shouted in terror as Yojimbo tore the boy's weapon out of his hands. Without thinking she slammed her hands together. Energy coursed through them and when she pressed them against the ground that energy passed through the ground to the area right in front of Nick. There it began to break down the stone on a molecular level, and rearranged it into a dome of solid rock that encircled the defenseless warrior within.

Yojimbo looked at the wall that had suddenly appeared before him, then to a terrified Brooke, and she got the feeling Yojimbo hadn't encountered someone with her talent before. Alchemy was a very rare, very old practice that few people had ever heard of, none the less practiced. Unfortunately it wasn't very useful in combat without some other type of combat training, meaning that she was now in a very bad situation as Yojimbo walked towards her.

"_Wind Cutter_!" Brooke let out a sigh of relief at the familiar voice as a line of red shot across her field of vision and slammed into the Aeon.

"Ryan! You d-" Brooke's cheer died as a dozen throwing knives and stars shot out of the smoke the attack had caused and headed straight at Ryan, who simply smirked as he disappeared.

"Yojimbo, you're too slow." Brooke's eyes widened and her head snapped across the room to find Ryan standing back-to-back with the Aeon, a twisted smirk on his face. "But you did mess Nick up pretty good. This should be fun."

'What is he talking about? _Fun_!' Brooke wondered what was wrong. Something about him seemed off about him. Just looking at him made her tremble.

"Well, ready to die again?" Ryan questioned as Yojimbo spun around, sword slashing at the spot Ryan's head was only a second before. "Ryu Tsui Sen!" Ryan shouted with a laugh as he pushed off the wall, his sword grazing Yojimbo's back before he disappeared completely, reappearing on the far side of the room in time to smirk as the Aeon turned and hurled throwing knives at him. "Kunai? _Please_! You couldn't skin a _puppy_ with these!" Ryan shouted as he caught the daggers in his left hand before disappearing again as the wall he'd just been standing in front of shattered and collapsed partially. "I see. So the kunai were a distraction to hide your Zanbato, eh?" He questioned as he sheathed Shinagami and drew a pulsating red blade and placed it on his shoulder. "Alright, then in return, I'll show you what the Wind Cutter can _really _do."

888

Rikku shook her head at the sight of the Machina Faction HQ. Without Gippal it had fallen into total disarray. People were running in every direction, shouting orders to lock down the doors, and more or less preparing for war. "What is going on here?"

"Looks like they relied on Gippal way too much to keep them organized…" Kitty said quietly.

"Yeah, it's kind of sad…" Yuna admitted, before turning to her cousin. "What are they saying, anyway?"

The Al Bhed frowned and listened to the shouts for a minute. "Something about an Aeon and a Machina… fusing…" Rikku let out a frustrated sigh. "They don't know much else, just that it's dangerous."

"Wonderful," Kitty said with a nervous chuckle. "Why is it that this group never does anything _normal_?"

"What fun would it be if we did _normal _stuff?" Rikku asked with a slight giggle as Yuna began talking to whom she assumed to be in charge of the hasty, military like actions. "Besides, you can't say you don't enjoy doing all this saving the world and stuff!"

"Well… I suppose it _is _a nice change from the quiet, completely militaristic,

888

Sakura had to cover her eyes from the light of the explosion when Ryan-kun's Wind Cutter hit… _something _of Yojimbo's. "Matt! What was that!" She shouted as she dodged a rather large piece of rock displaced by the explosion.

"Ryan's Wind Cutter hit Yojimbo's Zanbato. It's kinda like an invisible Wind Cutter you could say!" Matt shouted back over the sound of clashing swords and echoing laughter. "We need to get away from here, they're going to bring down the whole cave if they keep that kind of fight up!"

"No, they won't keep fighting like that. Yojimbo won't use his Zanbato unless he's sure he can hit with it now, he won't waste the energy needed for it. Ryan though! He's not holding back _at all_ is he?" Seph wondered as a kunai sailed past him, cutting his shoulder. "Yojimbo's trying to kill Ryan with _kunai_? Is he _crazy_?"

"I think he's trying to keep Ryan at a distance," Matt said as Ryan spun out of the way of a downward slash, stomped on the blade hard enough to drive it into the ground, drew Shinagami and rammed it through Yojimbo's arm and into the ground. "It's over." Matt said just before Wind Cutter flashed and took off the Aeon's head. "And so passes Yojimbo, yet again."

"Don't tell me you feel bad for that psycho," Seph muttered as Ryan sheathed Shinagami.

"No, but he was giving Ryan something to vent his hatred on…" Matt said as his knuckles turned white. "Other then us that is."

"Matt, you ready?" Seph asked as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face when Ryan turn to regard the group. The hatred he was giving off was overwhelming, crushing almost. He couldn't believe that Sakura and Brooke were even able to stay conscious looking at the mass of swirling anger their friend had become.

"Yeah, much as I don't want to do this," Matt admitted as he turned to regard Sakura. "Hey, get out of here. There's a good chance we're going to bring the whole cave down. Somebody needs to take Nick and Brooke and get out of here."

"R-right," Sakura gasped before heaving a complaining Nick over her shoulder and leading the way out of the cave.

"Getting rid of the ones that wouldn't fight? Good decision Matt. They'd just get in the way of the fun," Ryan said with an insane laugh.

"You've completely lost it Ryan. I told you last time you let this happen that I was going to kick your ass if it happened again, didn't I?" Matt asked as a Chidori began to grow in his hand.

"Oh please, you think a _Chidori_ is going to even _hit _me?" Ryan asked with a condensing smirk that disappeared after a few seconds. "If that's all you can do then this won't be any challenge."

"You talk a lot for a guy who got knocked out against _Yojimbo_," Seph said with a chuckle as a wave of water shot forward towards Ryan, forcing him to jump to the side to avoid being crushed against the wall. "You're still just a kid with a sword to me."

"You know what Seph? You're still just a guy playing at being an assassin," Ryan whispered into the water god's ear before dodging a series of water blasts that worked him into a corner.

"Too slow," Ryan muttered as a Wind Cutter flashed toward the two gods, each one dodging to the side.

"Too stupid," Matt shouted as he appeared next to Ryan, driving the Chidori towards the angel's heart, only to find it stopped short when Wind Cutter shot up, glowing brightly, and caught the Chidori right on the blade. "You're kidding me!" Matt cried in disbelief as he pressed harder, forcing the blade against his friend's chest. "Seph! Now!"

"Back off!" Ryan shouted, emitting a wave of Holy energy that knocked everything, including Matt and the spear of water Seph had launched, away.

888

"Didn't expect to be here again so soon," JT muttered as he made his way through the bustling port, barely noticing Melody's slightly tightening grip. "I wonder how things are at the temple…"

"You're worried about them? Didn't they try to rape your girlfriend…?" Rae asked skeptically, glancing at an unhappy Melody.

"Not particularly, but not many people deserve to be burned alive by a creature they once saw as a symbol of faith, either," JT countered as he spotted a familiar face in the crowds. "Dona! Lady Dona!"

"Hmmm? Oh, it's you," The summoner stated in a bored tone as she spotted the three rushing towards her. "Why are you three here?"

"We heard that fiends were coming from all the temples, so we're doing Yuna a favor and checking up on Kilika," Rae explained.

"Huh… I see. Well do as you will," Dona said as she turned to continue back to her hut.

"What do you know about the situation?" JT questioned before she'd gone two steps.

"Nothing. I'm in the Youth League. Do you think they'd just let me walk into the temple?" Dona questioned with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"No, but I figured you might have at least tried to get in touch with Barthello," JT stated with distaste as he started towards the gates.

"Hey, where are you going?" Dona demanded as she spun around to follow him.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to do what you're either too stupid or too afraid to do," JT muttered in an annoyed tone.

"You'll never get near the temple. The Youth League has blockaded the forest entry. As they should. We can't have those temple vermin crawling into town again, now can we?" Dona questioned before adding in a somewhat sad voice, "Besides, it spares me from having to see that sulky face."

"Sulky face? You mean that big muscley guy that was your guardian? What was his name again…?" Rae questioned.

"Barthello. And yes, he is who I speak of. He's with New Yevon, so naturally he's in the temple. But then, it's really none of my business," Dona admitted with a slight shrug.

"Well, either way, we've got to check up on the temple, regardless of whether or not they want us there…" JT muttered

"If you want to go that badly, I won't stop you. But they're turning people away at the gate. You'll need some kind of plan…" Dona stated as she glanced up at the two guards. "I've got it. I'll distract one of the guards, then you can take your chance to run through."

"I knew she was worried about him," Melody said with a slight chuckle once Dona had gone to do her part of the plan.

"Looks like she's got the guard distracted," Rae muttered as the second guard turned away. "Go!" The three broke into a dead sprint, dashing between the two guards who spun around and began yelling.

"There's a hidden path through the woods," Melody explained once they were in the forest. "If the Youth League has blockaded the entrance to the city, New Yevon's probably blockaded all the paths to the temple."

"So where's this secret path then?" Rae questioned as she glanced around, not really expecting to see it.

"Right above you," Melody said with a slight giggle. JT and Rae turned confused expressions to her, but she ignored them and climbed up into a nearby tree. "Hurry up!"

"Geez, this sucks," Rae muttered as she went up next, followed closely by her little brother. "I never liked climbing trees!"

"No you didn't, so stop complaining and start moving so that we can get out of them," JT suggested with a sigh.

"Quiet, there's guards below us you know," Melody reminded as they crept through the trees carefully, warning the other two of weak spots as they approached them. The going was slow, but Melody appeared to know the way by heart, and lead them around every danger with the practiced ease of a burglar. When finally she hopped down out of the trees they were behind the main temple, without a guard in sight and no evidence that _anyone _knew they were there.

"Well that was a nice short cut. Let's get going," Rae said as she motioned for them to follow her into the temple. Inside the three stuck to the shadows until they came to the cloisters and Rae stopped them. "Something's wrong…"

"The fires… they're blue?" Melody asked as she looked at the flickering flames with a puzzled expression. "What does that mean?"

"They turned blue… when the fiends came…" A raspy voice said from the corner ahead of them.

"Sir Barthello?" Melody asked as she peaked her head around the corner to find the former guardian sitting against the wall with blood dripping down his arm. "What on Spira happened to you!" She questioned quickly as she prepared to begin casting healing magic on the wound.

"I'll be okay," Barthello insisted, waving the healing away.

"What's the situation with the fiends?" JT asked in a somewhat worried voice.

"We're holding them off… somehow," Barthello admitted. "They're coming from inside! One after another…"

"Not good…" JT muttered as he glanced down the hallway that they were standing in. "At the very least we have to keep them here."

"If they reach the town, they'll reach… Dona!" Barthello shouted, jumping up with startling speed.

"Don't worry, they won't get to town," Rae said comfortingly as she gave JT the slightest of nods.

"Thanks," Barthello offered as he began off towards the main entrance.

"You know… I think Lady Dona wants to see you," Melody said cheerfully, causing the man's frown to change to a slight smile.

"I want to see her, too," He admitted in the flickering blue light of the temple's hallway. "Even if we believe different things, I'll always feel the same way about her. The time of the Summoners may have passed, but I will always be Dona's guardian. I live only to protect her!"

"Does she actually like that… corny stuff…?" JT asked in shock as Barthello ran off down the halls shouting "Dona" so loud that the three honestly wondered whether the former Summoner could actually hear him.

"Anyway, we've got an Aeon to slay, don't we?" Rae questioned with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Right, right, back to work," JT agreed as the three sprinted through the cloisters until they came to the chamber that once held a Fayth that would grant Summoners their dreams in hopes that the Summoner would be able to defeat Sin.

Now, however, it held nothing but a snarling, twisted version of that dream that everyone in Spira had once held so dearly. "An Aeon…" Melody whispered in shocked awe.

"Are you going to be ok with this," JT asked turning to Rae who looked torn. "You were a Summoner after all…"

"This… isn't Ifrit… this is… an _abomination_!" Rae said more fiercely then JT had expected. "It's a mockery of the Aeon's I fought along side of for so long. The Aeon's we used, the friends we _lost _when we defeated Sin, would _never _have harmed us! Whatever this… _thing _is, it's most definitely _not_ the Aeons I cherished so much!"

"What about you," JT questioned as he turned to the still awed Melody. "You lived here for quite some time, didn't you?"

"This may be an Aeon or it may not be an Aeon," Melody said with a shrug. "But this thing _is _a danger to everyone on this island… and while it may not have been _much _of a home, it's still _home_ none the less. I won't let fiends run rampant and ruin it."

"Well, I suppose that settles it then," JT said as Ifrit let out a roar.

"What about you? Are you ok fighting an Aeon?" Rae asked. She knew JT had no _special _bond with an Aeon, but she also knew he'd always respected the creatures' willingness to come to the aid of their Summoner and protect them.

"Perfectly," JT said in an icy tone that sent a shiver of fear down the two women's backs. "Even if I didn't want to, I couldn't let all these people get hurt just because 'I don't want to do it' now could I? What kind of legend would I be then?"

Rae let out a chuckle as the ground in front of her began to glow. "An infamous one," She stated jokingly as not one, not two, but five Iron Giants rose up out of the floor in front of the group. "Melody, can you cast 'Nul blaze', or any kind of protective magic?"

"Yeah," The white mage answered nervously as she fell into a short chant before a wave of energy coursed through JT. Next came Rae, then Melody cast it on herself, all the while dodging shards of iron as the Iron Giants Rae had summoned were torn apart piece by piece by the vicious Aeon.

"Alright then," JT muttered to himself as he put his Katar on and launched himself onto the disappearing corpse of an Iron Giant that had just been torn in half at the waist. Pushing off he vaulted over the Aeon's back as an Iron Giant grabbed the arm that was reaching for him. Landing on the Aeon's back he muttered with his eyes closed and his voice, distorted by the power of the words themselves, echoed eerily in the room. "Su'acon d' Elamshin, Ktonos d' nindyn vel'uss fre'sla qua'laen uns'aa, Harventh duul'sso nindol quortek dal olt valbylen lu' sut ol dal olt zakath!"

"Melody, get down!" Rae yelled as she tackled the white mage to the ground. The air crackled with energy around JT and the Aeon, and small explosions tore apart the remaining Iron Giants from within.

"What is he doing!" Melody cried in terror as explosions tore through the room around them.

"He's using a forbidden Magic called "Su'acon d' Elamshin" against Ifrit!" Rae shouted as she pulled the white mage to her feet and ushered her out of the room forcefully.

"We can't leave JT there!" Melody pleaded with the older woman, frantically trying to force her way back into the room.

"Melody, there's no _way _to get him!" Rae shouted as she moved enough for the younger woman to see the room behind them, filled with roaring flames and explosions. It seemed, by all stretches of the imagination, that hell itself had been unleashed inside the room. "Now _run_!"

"Look out!" Melody shouted as she dragged Rae down to the ground suddenly, a large chunk of the wall flying over them so closely that their hair whipped around them like living things.

"Thanks, now _run_ already!" Rae shouted as the two got their feet beneath them and sprinted down the tunnel, barely staying a step ahead of the flames and rubble JT's spell had created.

888

"Frana ec Gippal frah fa haat res? (Where is Gippal when we need him?)" An Al Bhed demanded of nobody in particular as Yuna, Rikku, and Kitty rushed up to Djose Temple.

"He says Gippal's not back yet!" Rikku translated for her friends. "Fryd'c fedr dra kihc? (What's with the guns?)" Rikku questioned, noting immediately that the man had his weapon pointed at the door to the temple.

"Fa dneat vekrdehk dra veahtc uh uin ufh, pid fa uhmo syta drehkc funca. Dra veahtc vuiht y fyo du sanka fedr uin machina. (We tried fighting the fiends on our own, but we only made things worse. The fiends found a way to merge with our machina.)" The Al Bhed explained bitterly.

"Translation: Not good!" Rikku said urgently to Yuna and Kitty.

"Then that's our cue!" Yuna said as she led the three to the temple doors that were already being pulled open for them. Without slowing down to thank the men who'd opened them the three burst through the door, Kitty and Rikku cutting down a pair of fiends immediately while Yuna put two holes in a third's forehead with surprising precision.

"Which way to the place the Aeon'll be at?" Kitty questioned as she spun around, marveling at the half-finished Machina collected in the temple.

"This way!" Yuna said, waving a gun to get the two to follow her as she dashed through what had once been the temple's cloister. As they came to the doors to the Chamber of the Fayth her heart skipped a beat as Kitty and Rikku moved to open the doors.

"You ok, Yunie?" Rikku asked when she noticed her cousin's face.

"Yeah. We have to see. We have to know if there's an Aeon here too," Yunie said with a defiant nod of her head as the two opened the door to reveal the chamber within.

Yuna's heart sank as she laid eyes on the Aeon, if it could even be called that any longer. "That's one of the Aeon's you used to trust in…?" Kitty asked in shock as she studied the half machina, half Aeon that stood before them, lighting arcing along it's open circuitry. "I expected something less… mechanical…"

"Merged with an Al Bhed Machina. That's what one of the men outside said," Rikku said breathlessly. "I never expected this…"

"How can this be…?" Yuna questioned in shock that was quickly replaced by fear as Ixion lowered it's head and charged towards them. Yuna dove to the side, skidding on her back and firing into Ixion's side as it charged past her, not once slowing as the bullets bounced off its partially metallic body.

"Yuna, you ok?" Kitty questioned, and once the former Summoner nodded her head the slits of her eyes almost disappeared. Time seemed to slow down for the Lydc as she pounced towards the Aeon's back. She landed with a thud, her claws already reaching forward and about to pierce the Aeon's jugular when the Aeon bucked, sending her tumbling through the air.

Even with her heightened senses Kitty couldn't avoid the bolt of lightning that the Aeon launched from its horn. It slammed into her stomach, sending her tumbling into a nearby wall helplessly before Rikku's daggers dug into its non-metallic side.

"Kitty!" The Al Bhed shouted as she pulled her weapons free from the bucking Aeon.

"I'm… fine," Kitty gasped as she forced the pain away with an almost feral growl as she stood up shakily.

"How can we stop it?" Yuna shouted as her bullets bounced off the armor-like side.

"It'll take too long if we keep this up," Rikku shouted back as she dashed under the Aeon, cursing repeatedly as her blades dragged against metal rather then flesh. "We have to do something big!"

Yuna looked around for a solution. The temple was full of half-finished machina, but that didn't seem too likely to pose a solution, especially given that Ixion had already fused with at least one Machina. She noticed a hole in the wall, with several poles sticking out at odd angels, and it gave her an idea.

"Kitty! See those poles to your left?" Yuna shouted as she rolled out of the way of a lightning bolt.

"The ones half sticking out of the wall?" the Lydc questioned, already trying to pry them out.

"We'll impale it to a wall with one of those, and then finish it!" Yuna explained as Rikku danced out of the way of another charge. "Let us know when you're ready!"

The Lydc glanced over at her friends, struggling to stay a step ahead of the Aeon's attacks before giving one last tug that tore the poll free. "Ready!" She shouted as she hefted the heavy, makeshift weapon and hurled it as best she could. Odd as the pole was to throw, it soared true, skewering the Aeon with enough force to not only pierce its side, but nearly the wall that the impact had slammed the Aeon against.

"A little more warning next time!" Rikku shouted, and the Lydc nearly burst out in laughter at the Al Bhed's predicament. She hadn't had time to get out of the Aeon's way, so instead she'd dropped to her knees and bent backwards, and now was attempting to get up and escape the quickly gathering pool of blood and oil that was growing around her.

"Sorry, Rikku," Kitty offered as she and Yuna helped the Al Bhed out from under the Aeon.

"I'm going to need a nice, long bath after this," Rikku complained with a pout as she inspected the mess she had become while the other two inspected the giant hole that had taken over the spot the Fayth had once occupied. "Another hole. Wonder what's down there," She questioned aloud when she'd given up on cleaning herself off at all and joined them.

"We could always go find out," Kitty suggested with a giggle.

"Uh-uh, no way. I'm not going anywhere except back to the Celsius for a bath!" Rikku stated firmly, her tone leaving very little room for argument as Kitty forced herself to relax, her senses slowly returning to normal. But even as they did she felt an overwhelming sense of dread, and turned to the only threat she'd seen since arriving in the chamber. That sense of dread turned to a sense of horror as Ixion started limping towards the three, currents of blood and oil spewing out its sides.

"Look out!" she shouted as she dove to the side, forcing a confused Rikku down with her as an explosion shook the room itself. Blood, burning oil, and scolding hot machina parts tore through the air. When it was over the two stood up and glanced around at the bloody mess that the Aeon had left.

And quickly noticed that Yuna was nowhere to be seen.

888

"They've defeated several of our Aeon's," Shuyin informed Yevon spitefully. "Ixion, Ifrit, Bahamut, Valefor, Yojimbo. All of them were defeated before they could reach the Farplane."

"It matters little. The remaining ones will more then suffice," Yevon said nonchalantly. "My real concern is whether or not you've learned enough of Vegnagun's controls to use it?" Shuyin sneered at the corrupted god, but nodded his head. "Well then, all we need to worry about is where our queer friend has run off to this time."

"Lusniec? No need to worry about him. Even I can stop him," Shuyin boasted proudly.

"True, you can stop him. _One-on-one_," Yevon growled, emphasizing each word enough to make Shuyin step back. "You think that you could defeat him, that annoying twerp he's always chasing after, and the rest of the group?"

"If I have to," Shuyin stated firmly, though they both knew it to be a lie. Shuyin could no more take all of them then he could take the man sitting before him. It was simply too much for him in this borrowed form.

"Sure, keep deluding yourself," Yevon said with a sigh. A thoroughly dreadful feeling had been hanging around him recently, and as much as he tried to pass it off as paranoia, he couldn't deny the fact that forces that were beyond even his control were moving against him. Forces that he had hoped would lay dormant for a few more centuries, until he was strong enough to deal with them directly.

Not that it mattered overly much. Pretty soon Spira would be but a smoldering ruin for him to recreate in his own view, he reminded himself. Once that happened it wouldn't matter what forces were moving in the shadows. At the very least he'd have fulfilled his promise of destroying Spira, as that would happen in a few days.

No matter how much he told himself that, however, he couldn't help but feel that events were about to take a horrible turn for him.

888

Melody was exhausted. The squad that Barthello had taken in to hold off the fiends and been torn up horribly, and she'd been helping heal them since she and Rae had gotten out of the temple. Even with three other white mages helping her, they'd lost several men. On top of that, nobody has seen or heard anything about JT, and she was truly starting to worry about the backlash that such a powerful spell might have. It was entirely possible that the explosions had consumed him along with Ifrit, wasn't it? No, it was _likely _that that was what had happened.

"Melody, maybe you should take a break. You don't look like you're doing too well yourself," Rae said as she put a comforting hand on the mage's shoulder and squeezed gently. Melody nodded and walked off, another mage quickly taking her place as Rae led her to a bench on the far side of the room. "Listen… I'm not sure what happened to hi--"

"There's another one coming out of the temple! Get the mages!" someone outside shouted, causing both women's hearts to skip a beat though whether or not it was from fear or delight they weren't sure.

"Please, please, _please _let it be him!" Melody whispered as she and Rae forced their way through the group of people who'd gathered to help carry whoever had come out of the temple to meet the healers.

An offer that was being waved away, and very animatedly at that. Singed, battered, bleeding from the ears and stumbling JT made his way slowly through the crowd towards the only free chair in the area. "JT!" Rae shouted in relief as Melody practically tossed people out of her way, bolted through the crowd, and slammed into the weary Al Bhed with enough force to send them both to the ground. "Geez… I think she missed him," Rae said with a giggle to the people around her, all of whom seemed surprisingly relieved that a boy they didn't know was alive.

888

Seph couldn't figure out what had happened to Ryan. So far he'd managed to avoid any fatal wounds, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could do that while holding back. Ducking under a slash aimed at his neck he launched a ball of water into Ryan's stomach, launching the man backwards a dozen feet and buying him enough time to catch his breath and formulate a plan.

"You're getting slower, Seph," Ryan taunted as Wind Cutter began to glow. Seph felt his heart skip a beat as the red light made it's way along the blade until it had completely engulfed it.

Enough was enough, the assassin decided. Matt may not have wanted to hurt his best friend, but Seph wasn't so loyal to people trying to kill him. Water condensed and swirled around him until there was a three-foot thick wall between the two of them, and an equally thick dome around the hamstringed and unconscious thunder god. "Last chance to walk away alive," Seph stated coldly.

"I'm too excited for that," Ryan stated with an amused grin. "Show me just what you can do, Seph. I've been dying to see!"

"Your funeral," Seph stated as a dozen needles of water shot out of his protective wall. Ryan rolled his eyes and dodged to the side, only to get slammed from behind with enough force to send him tumbling head first through the air towards another burst.

"Wind Cutter!" Seph watched as the red blade of energy cut through the water Ryan was about to hit, but bounced harmlessly off of his shield. As the angel flew through the water he'd cut in half Seph let out an ice-cold smirk and slammed the two halves of water together, crushing the angel between them before slamming him face first into the ground with a sickening crack that he assumed to be Ryan's nose breaking.

Without missing a beat a blast of holy energy slammed through his barrier, and into his chest, slamming him into the ceiling almost 25 feet above. The last thing the assassin saw before passing out was the flutter of a cloak, and a flash of red coming at him impossibly fast.

888

Ryan blinked in disbelief as his Wind Cutter slammed into a barrier and was turned away effortlessly. He glanced at the entrance, but nobody was there, and when he didn't hear a 'thud' he glanced back at where Seph _should _have landed and found a hooded figure knelling over him, whispering quietly with one hand placed against the assassin's forehead. After several seconds the figure nodded, satisfied, and stood and faced him.

"You're pathetic," The figure stated, causing Ryan to growl slightly. "If this is the limit of your control then you have a long way to go before you can claim to be worthy of the power you wield. Still, I suppose it's not impossible to imagine…"

"Right… and you are?" Ryan questioned crossly.

"A phantom," was all he got as the man kneeled down next to Matt, healing his injuries in the blink of an eye. "One who would rather not have to kill you if it can be avoided."

"Right. Shut up and die," Ryan muttered as another Wind Cutter flashed through the air. The figure shook it's head and reached out, catching the Wind Cutter with three fingers and shattering it. Ryan's blood ran cold at the sight of his Wind Cutter being broken by someone using only three fingers. Who the hell was this guy that he was so powerful?

"I see… so you won't give up then," The figure said with a slightly sad chuckle. "Very well. I'll show you something that a dear… _friend_ once showed me. Feel honored. Most don't survive it."

Ryan raised Wind Cutter, readying himself for whatever might be coming. Every muscle in his body tensed, and suddenly the man was there, seemingly teleporting the thirty some feet between them. Before Ryan could even react the man had grabbed Wind Cutter's hilt and, with an iron-tight grip, forced it up over Ryan's head. Cursing mentally Ryan watched as a glowing hand slammed into his chest. Literally. The hand physically passed _through _his chest and tightened around his heart. Ryan's entire body went numb, and Wind Cutter slipped out of his hands as his legs gave out on him. As the man released him, Ryan saw the ground coming at his face at a disturbing speed before fire blossomed in his mind, which was quickly replaced by the painless embrace of sleep.

The figure shook it's head as Brooke and Sakura came running into the room. "They'll all be fine. They're just unconscious," The figure explained as he walked past them. "Please take good care of them."

"Uh… right," Sakura offered absently, wondering who could have stopped such a fight without being severally wounded himself.

In the end, she decided that she'd rather not know as she paged the Celsius.

888

"So, JT, care to explain how you weren't burnt to a cinder in those explosions?" Rae asked once Melody had healed the few wounds he had, and almost immediately fallen asleep on his shoulder.

"Oh, that? That was easy. Melody cast Nul Blaze on me, and since all of the explosions were generated from a _single _attack, none of the flames hurt me," JT said as he shrugged his free shoulder. "IF you'd stopped to think about it, you probably would've saved yourself a lot of worry."

"Watch it you," Rae warned. "You didn't come out of that without any injuries, or are you forgetting that you were nearly deaf?"

"That… ok, fine, you have me on that one…" JT admitted with a sigh before a ball of water formed in the air in front of his face. "What kept you all, Seph? We've been waiting…"

"Shut up and get in the Celsius, I'll explain it there," was all the battered assassin said before walking off. Rae and JT shared a concerned look. Neither had ever seen the assassin quite so battered before, and the implications it left of just how powerful their foes were was disturbing.

Without another word JT picked Melody up, and the three followed the assassin down through the forest, through the throng of people who separated at the sight of the assassin, and onto the deathly silent Celsius. When Rae finally worked up the courage she managed to ask, "What's with the silence…?"

"Yuna's… gone," Rikku said quietly. "She fell into the hole at Djose Temple…"

"There was a hole at Kilika, too," JT said slowly. "Any idea where they go to?"

"Farplane would be my guess," Seph put in quietly. "The Fayth were dead… and the holes are in the same place as the statues."

"Makes sense," Rikku said. "But that doesn't help us any unless we actually go _after _Yuna. And with Matt and Ryan and Nick still so beat up, that could be dangerous."

"Could be? What do you mean could be?" Seph questioned. "There's no doubt that it'll be dangerous. It _is _a place where the dead gather, after all. They tend to dislike being interrupted."

"Well we don't have a choice. We have to go get Yuna," Paine said as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Seph opened his mouth to argue but stopped as a light on the com-terminal lit up.

"Yuna, calling the Gullwings!"

"Yunie!" Rikku shouted as she pulled Buddy out of the chair and sat down in it herself, leaving the Al Bhed man dazed and disoriented on the ground.

"Where are you! We'll be right there!" Brother shouted as the engines roared to life.

"Wait until we know where she is…" Seph suggested to the pilot quietly, earning a scowl for his efforts.

"I'm in Bevelle, and I've got some things to tell you all! Please, hurry up and come to get me!"

"We are being already there, Yuna!" Brother shouted before roaring the engines once again.

888

Seph listened to Yuna's encounter with Shuyin intently. So, Baralai had been taken over by the insane soul. A soul that, apparently, had thought that Yuna was Lenne for some reason.

"A soul that can take over others…" Seph said to himself quietly. It was a scary thought, even for the hardened assassin.

"I hate to interrupt, but Spira's falling apart without its leaders," Shinra explained in a somewhat worried voice.

"With Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal gone, maybe we can do something to bring the people together!" Yuna suggested.

"Yeah! Yeah! Great idea there, Yunie! So like, what are we gonna do? Huh?" Rikku questioned excitedly.

"Sing campfire songs?" Paine asked sarcastically.

"Ohhh! That is it! All of Spira will be the captive of Yuna's singing and dancing!" Brother said excitedly, causing Paine to roll her eyes.

"Great idea!" Rikku shouted happily.

"I can handle the techie stuff," Shinra boasted.

"H-hang on!" Yuna said uncertainly.

"I know! I know! I bet Tobli would help!" Rikku suggested.

"But where is he now?" Buddy questioned.

"The Moonflow," Paine said simply.

"Gullwings… move out!" Brother shouted as he jumped into the pilot seat.

"Next stop: The Moonflow! Sorry kids, no time for side trips. You ready for a little Tobli hunt?"

"You bet!" Yuna said cheerfully as Brother flew off towards the Moonflow.

888

Usi watched in dismay as her dearest friend's breathing became impossibly shallow. Yevon had to have been drawing on Andy's powers a great deal recently for Vena's health to decline so quickly. His realm was already too unstable to keep him in, but she was terrified of what may happen if she moved him in his condition. Could the shock from teleporting him out of his dimension kill him? And if it did, what would happen to Andy? She wasn't overly found of her friend's successor, but Vena was trying so desperately to protect him.

"How is he?" Dnorith asked quietly as he put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"For his health to decline so quickly… and for the final to have not happened…" Zedih said from behind Vena, startling the two. Neither had noticed the god of water arrive. "If they do not strike Yevon down quickly, Vena won't survive. If they _do _strike Yevon down quickly, then Andy won't survive. One of them will perish before this is over."

"Aren't you as cheerful as ever," Dnorith muttered dryly.

"I'm simply stating the facts that you were thinking," Zedih replied without a trace of emotion.

888

Sakura sat quietly in the dark room, watching Matt, Ryan, and Nick. Though their wounds didn't seem too threatening at all, but none of them had woken up yet. She couldn't help but feel that, whatever that man had done to them, it wasn't quite the benevolent gesture it had seemed at the time.

Snow hopped up onto her lap, nearly knocking her over in the process. The Snow Leopard looked at her questioningly before licking her cheek a few times. Sakura let out a small giggle and wrapped her arms around the young leopard. Even though they hadn't been in Spira long, the leopard had almost doubled in size, and probably weighed a good 180 pounds.

"Awww, I'm ok, Snow. I'm just making sure nobody tries to do anything funny to Matt, or Ryan-kun or Nick-kun!" Sakura said reassuringly, scratching the leopard behind the ears happily. Snow let out a low purring sound before tipping the chair over and causing the goddess to cry out in surprise as they fell. "Geez, Snow, you're getting so heavy! I think we're feeding you too much!"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," A voice said quietly from the corner of the room. Immediately Snow was between Sakura and the origin of the voice, a roar building in the leopard's throat. "Calm yourself, Snow. I'm not here to hurt anyone."

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded as her hands reached for her tonfas.

"Me? I'm Matt's predecessor. I would have come to check up on them sooner but… I had some unpleasant business to deal with first," Dnorith explained as he stepped out of the shadows and spread his empty hands out. "How has he been?"

"Matt… had to fight Ryan-kun. It didn't go too well from the looks of things, and Seph-san won't tell me much about what happened, just that it didn't go well."

"He has his reasons. Indeed, it's best if you not pester him about it. It was an unforutane incident, and I doubt highly it will be repeated. No harm no foul as they say, no?" the god questioned with a laugh before disappearing in a burst of electricity.

"I hate it when they do that, Snow," Sakura said sourly as she sat down next to the confused leopard who proceeded to lay down with it's head on her lap and let out a content purr as the engines of the Celsius roared to life. A few minutes later Rikku came bouncing into the room, a giant smile on her face as she grabbed Sakura by the hand and started leading her out of the room, much to the leopard's annoyance. "Rikku-chan, what's going on?"

"We've gotta help Yunie practice for her concert while the Hypello get people to come to the thunder plains to come see!" Rikku explained happily. "We're gonna be in a concert, Sakura!"

"I… don't like being in front of that many people at once though!" Sakura protested in vain as the Al Bhed continued to lead her down the hallway.

888

Matt was barely aware of one thing as he slowly regained consciousness. Wherever he was, there was a great deal of thunder. Even half asleep he'd heard the call of bolts of lighting crashing into the ground, and he could feel the electrical charge they left in the air. Only one place on Spira had so great a charge.

"Why are we on the Thunder Plains?" He asked nobody in particular.

"Oh, awake at last are we?" Seph questioned as he walked into the room.

"Don't answer my questions with questions," Matt muttered as he sat up and glanced around. Back in the Celsius, with Nick and Ryan laying peacefully not a dozen feet away, he realized dully. "What the hell happened?"

"Well… I'm not entirely sure. By all rights, I should be dead," Seph admitted slowly. "As for why we're in the thunder Plains… well, Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai are in the Farplane. From the sounds of things, Baralai's possessed by a pissy dead guy that looks like that Tidus guy from two years ago, and has Vegnagun, and Gippal and Nooj are trying to stop him. And without the three of them up here directing it, Spira's beginning to fall apart."

"What does that have to do with us being in the Thunder Plains?" Matt questioned.

"Well, Yuna thinks that her singing will be able to unite the factions of people through out Spira, so they're bringing _everyone _to the Thunder Plains for a concert," Seph said with a chuckle. "Kind of a long shot, but all we have at the moment."

"We're going to unite a divided world by _singing _to them…?" Matt asked in disbelief.

"Well, at least we get to see all the girls dressed up and dancing," Seph offered, drawing a laugh from Matt. "Yeah, thought you might like that part. But even talent less guys like us have a part to do. Get up, we're going fiend hunting," Seph said with a grin.

"Oh, that'll be fun in the pouring down rain and lightning storm," Matt said as he got out of bed, grabbed his axes, and motioned for the assassin to lead the way.

888

Nick opened an eye when he heard the door hiss shut. He had been trying to deny that he was awake for quite some time now, and had even been awake when they had landed in the Thunder Plains ten minutes earlier. He was more then capable of dealing with fiends, especially since Brooke had replaced his weapon, but he wasn't in the mood to.

So, when he was sure that the two weren't in the hallway he snuck out of the room and crept back into his room. He glanced around. This would be the first place they looked when he wasn't in the infirmary. Why had he come here? Shaking his head at the fact that he'd gone to such an obvious hiding place, he crept back into the hallway and opened another door.

"Nick?" A voice asked in surprise when the door was closed, causing the man to wince. "When did you wake up?"

"Ten minutes ago…" Nick replied honestly as he turned to find Brooke sitting up in her bed in the dark room. The sight of the woman in her night gown was one that Nick didn't mind at all.

"Ahhh, so you came running to my room… why?" The woman asked with an expression that was a mixture of amusement and curiosity.

"Well… there's few better places to be then with a beautiful woman in the dark," Nick said with a smile as he walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "But aren't you and the other girls helping Yuna practice for this big concert that everyone's helping out with?"

"Oh, you mean the concert that you're avoiding helping out with?" Brooke asked with a giggle.

"I don't appear to be the only one," Nick reminded, but Brooke waved the comment away.

"I sprained my ankle when we were looking for Tobli. I can walk if I'm careful, but there's no way I could dance," She explained with a shrug. "I think Sakura wishes we could trade places though. She didn't look too excited by the prospect of having to dance in front of the whole world."

"Really? Never seemed like the type to get stage fright. Never seemed to have problems competing in martial arts competitions, or demonstrations," Nick said absently, trying to recall a time when he'd seen Sakura dealing with stage fright until a blanket dropped over his head. "Ummmm… what are you doing…" Nick asked slowly, caught off guard and slightly confused. He only became more confused when Brooke tackled him, knocking the two to the ground in a mix of bodies, hair, and blankets.

Brooke let out a giggle as she slipped up next to him under the blanket, but stopped when the door creaked open. "Hey Brooke? What're you doi…" Rikku stopped in mid-sentence when she saw the two laying together on the floor. "Oh, I didn't mean to… um… uh… the concert'll be starting soon!" Rikku said hurriedly before closing the door and running off.

"Well… this'll be an interesting concert," Nick said with a laugh as he got up and helped Brooke to her feet. He went to leave but she grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around, and pressed her lips against his so fast that he just blinked in surprise.

"I'll see you at the concert," she whispered before throwing him a wink and ushering him out the door.

Seconds after the door closed and the hallway emptied, the unsuspecting man was engulfed and dragged away by a living shadow.

888

"That was so boring…" Matt commented as the two looked around for more fiends. When no more presented themselves, the two shared a glance, shrugged, and began back towards the Celsius.

"All done already?" Paine asked, not really sounding at all surprised even though the two had only been gone a half hour.

"Yeah," Seph replied simply as he looked at the plethora of people that had been delivered while the two of them had been off driving back the fiends. "Geez, think enough people turned out?"

"Maybe, maybe not. This is a concert to unite _Spira _if you recall…" Matt stated as Shinra ran up.

"We're going to be starting in a few minutes! Yuna wants you two to go get Nick and Ryan." The small Al Bhed stated before running back to his back-stage post.

"Do we have 'Cheap Labor' stamped on our foreheads or something?" Matt asked the assassin when they started into the Celsius with the spot lights coming on behind them. Speakers crackled for a second as Yuna began her speech. "Man… I actually wanted to _see _this. Where the hell are Nick and Ryan?"

"Well there's Nick," Seph said as the man stumbled out of the bathroom. "And he's drunk, from the look of things…"

"Something doesn't feel right about this…" Matt said as a weapon appeared in Nick's hand. "Why the _hell _did you bring your weapon into the bathroom…?"

"Why else? To _kill_," Nick said with an insane laugh and a voice that didn't quite seem his own.

"Oh, great, another god damn friend gone psycho and trying to kill us," Matt muttered as the two stepped to the sides of the hall, Nick passing between them. As they prepared to counter attack his weapon split into two separate halves. Confused by the sudden maneuver, neither Matt nor Seph reacted fast enough to avoid being tripped by the chains that had suddenly shot out of the ends of each.

"What the hell is going on, Matt?" Seph demanded before Nick yanked on first one weapon, then the other, sending both gods flying into a steel door and denting it. "Your friends are psychotic!"

"So I've seen," Matt muttered as he brought Lightning Edge down on the chains, cutting them free. "So, when are _you _going to go psychotic and try and kill me?"

"Once you've outlived your usefulness," Seph replied as little daggers of water shot out towards Nick, who simply laughed as they _passed through _him. "Ok… that's definitely not good."

"Chidori," Matt shouted as he charged towards Nick, intent on ending the fight before it got too dangerous, but passing right through him as well.

"Too easy! This body knows your strategy too wel--"Nick's boast ended in an agonized scream as electricity rushed into the axe leaning against his solid leg.

"Nasaragi," Matt finished with a slight smirk as Nick dropped to the ground shuddering.

"Matt! Go get Ryan! _Now_!" Seph shouted suddenly. The assassin had slipped around to take Nick's back, and had seen what was inside the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Matt asked, though he was already heading down towards the room Ryan was in.

"Brooke's hurt, badly!" Seph shouted back before a chain wrapped around his neck and Nick pulled, slamming the back of the assassin's head against the corner of the door frame, spilling more blood onto the already horribly bloody bathroom floor. 'What the hell? There's no way this is Nick that's fighting!' Seph thought as he slumped to the ground, pretending to be wounded far worse then he really was. The wound was already healing, and although he'd be lightheaded for awhile, and more then a little dizzy, he wouldn't be useless.

"Yes, run, get Lusniec's heir. It should be an interesting encounter!" Nick said as he followed Matt down the hallway slowly, his weapons dragging against the ground as he passed the assassin. When he was sure that he was out of Nick's striking distance he launched lances of water at the crazed warrior. "Ha!" Nick shouted as he dropped into his own shadow, appearing right behind the assassin and shoving the spear head through Seph's back. The assassin jerked in pain, and then cried out as the kama slashed down, cutting through his collar bone. "I'm not that weak," Nick whispered into the assassin's ear before placing a foot on his back and kicking him into a wall.

"_Nick_!" Matt shouted in rage as he sent Off-hand flying hurtling through the air at remarkable speeds.

"What happened to getting Lusniec's heir?" Nick questioned as he grabbed Off-hand by the blade, snatching it out of mid air like it was child's play. Matt felt a tremor of dread pass through him as Nick shoved his spear into the ground next to him. Matt was about to call him a fool when the spear head shot up, through his foot. He gasped as the spear head was torn back down, into the shadows, and then shouted in pain as the head shot back up in through his other foot, effectively paralyzing the god who fell to his knees and glared at his former friend. "Aww, you look so angry. What's wrong?"

"I'll kick your ass!" Matt shouted as the hallway filled with lighting arcing towards Nick who sneered.

"Die!" He shouted as he hurled his Kama at Matt's head, but a bolt of lightning slammed it down. Matt's shout turned to a gurgle of pain as he dropped face first to the ground gasping. "What's wrong? Hurts, don't it? Just like you'd be hit in the chest, right? All the pain and none of the wounds. Confuses the hell out of people when they try to determine the cause of death, you know?"

"What… did you… do?" Matt gasped as he clutched his chest and tried to steel his will against the excruciating pain.

"Oh, just a little trick of mine. You see, if I hit your shadow, it'll _feel _just like I hit the corresponding part of your body. Only, since I really haven't hit it, there's no physical wounds, so it makes determining the cause of death a bitch from what I hear," Nick said with a laugh. "But enough of that. I've an heir to kill, then your friend can have his body back."

"Who… are you?" Matt demanded as strongly as he could, though his voice held little force.

"Me? None of your business. Just be glad you're not in Seph's situation, and be _particularly _glad that you're not in that broad's situation. Boy, if you'd seen the way she looked at me when I impaled her!" Nick said with an insane laugh.

Until a blast of Holy energy sent him hurtling down the hall screaming in pain. "I don't know who you are, but you talk _way _too much. What the hell do you want?" Ryan shouted as he stormed down the hallway until he stood next to Matt. "Hey, you ok man?"

"Seph… Brooke… hurry!" Matt gasped the order, knowing that whatever had possessed Nick would be back soon.

"Jesus… what… I can't…" Ryan gasped when he followed the trail of blood to the bathroom. For a second he could only stare, but the sounds of Nick cursing had him casting healing magic on them without pause. As he poured magical power into them Nick charged down the hall, launching his Kama and the spear end of his weapon through the air, only to have them knocked back to him just before they landed. "I don't care who you are, friend or not. You'll pay _dearly _for this!"

"Just try it!" Nick shouted as he launched his spear at Ryan's shadow.

"Not a chance!" Ryan shouted as he leaped forward and grabbed the spear. Spinning around he yanked on the chain, causing it to go taunt before he slashed through it with Wind Cutter before hurling the spear back as he completed his spin. Nick snapped to the side, catching the end of the shaft as it passed and whipped the Kama around, the chain extending significantly and wrapping around him before burying itself in the ground next to him. "Bastard…" Ryan muttered as he tried to move his arms but found them bound tightly to his sides.

"Now… to repay that attack from earlier!" Nick shouted as a ball of darkness began to form between the two, gentle wisps of shadows drawing blood as they touched Ryan's skin on their way to join Nick's attack. Ryan braced himself for the attack as best he could, but when it started to sink down he realized what was coming. He'd seen how Matt had been beaten, and he had no intention of losing the same way, especially not when it meant more people would end up like Brooke and Seph. "Now die!"

"Not a chance!" Ryan shouted as he dove forward, barely avoiding the attack.

"An act in futility. You dodged that, and maybe you'll dodge a few more, but eventually you'll slip up and die," Nick said smugly.

"Then I suppose I'll have to go on the offensive," Ryan stated with enough confidence for Nick's possessor to raise an eyebrow until a burst of Holy energy shattered the chain in a burst of light.

Hissing at the suddenly bright light that had surrounded the two combatants, Nick turned and dashed out of the Celsius, with Ryan following behind at a safe distance. As Ryan actually exited the Celsius a city similar to Vegas in looks greeted him, disorienting him just long enough for a chain to drop down and circle around his neck. Cursing silently he jumped as high as he could, leaping high above his assailant and pulling him into the air before cutting the chains once again.

"I'm getting _sick _of you!" Ryan shouted as 6 foot snow white wings sprouted from his back, drawing gasps from everyone there as he flew towards Nick with a glowing red sword in his hand.

"Don't take me so lightly!" Nick shouted as equally large jet black wings sprouted from his own back, and a lance of darkness that consumed all light around it appeared around his spear.

"Wind Cutter!" Ryan launched the attack through the air, the red blade of energy drawing the attention of the few people who hadn't noticed the two combatants.

"Lance of Shadows!" Nick shouted, hurling the augmented spear at the blade of energy coming towards him.

For a fraction of a second light and dark battled before vanishing, leaving an odd twilight lingering as the two charged towards each other, weapons drawn. As they approached Ryan held Wind Cutter out in front of him, glowing red again. Before Nick could gather any energy to counter it nine blades passed through him, leaving a sickening feeling in his stomach despite the fact that he was unharmed. Spinning around he wrapped his Kama around Ryan's leg and slammed him into the top of the Celsius.

Ryan rolled over and pointed his finger, a small bead of energy on the tip of his finger launching a blast of energy burning through the darkness and exploding just inches in front of Nick, the force of the blast knocking nearly everyone off their feet.

"That was a rather pitiful attempt to kill me," Nick said as he rose up out of Ryan's own shadow with a chuckle.

"But it got you so close!" Ryan said cheerfully as Wind Cutter flashed around, hilt slamming into Nick's chest and shattering ribs while a Kama slashed down rendering one of Ryan's arms useless, before the two jumped out of striking distance.

"Seems like the only way to settle this is with one big move," Nick said as a small dot of darkness began to form in his hand. "So, let's find out just who can take more pain, hmmmm?" Ryan didn't bother to answer. The Wind Song was drifting through his mind, and it was bringing with it something Ryan had never expected from it.

As Nick's dot grew to a fist sized ball of darkness, Ryan's energy was channeled in a different way. At first it had been almost fist-sized at the end of Wind Cutter's tip, but while Nick's attack got larger, Ryan's compressed until it was so small it could've fit on a finger nail.

"_That _is all the magical energy you have left? Well then, this will be simple!" Nick shouted as he hurled the fist sized ball of darkness at Ryan. As it traveled through the air it expanded rapidly, gathering speed as it went. "Die then, knowing you were _never _Lusniec's equal!"

"Go to hell!" Ryan shouted as he launched his own small, deceptively powerful attack. The two spells collided, neither giving any ground as a shockwave knocked the stunned onlookers off their feet, and tongues of darkness and light licked the area around the spells, shattering rocks and plants that they touched with horrifying ease.

"What the hell did you create!" Nick demanded when he suddenly found his own attack distorting and dispersing instead of Ryan's.

"A super nova," Ryan said before his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

888

Matt's eyes widened in horror as Ryan's wings faded away and the angel's sword slipped from his hand as he collapsed. As Ryan fell, his attack's light brightened a dozen times over before exploding with enough force to rock the Celsius so violently that Matt, at first at the entrance, found himself almost two dozen feet down the hall he'd just climbed to watch the end of the fight. Cursing, the thunder god forced himself onto his feet and winced as he sprinted down the hall, fighting not to fall as the Celsius bucked, and struggling to see through the blinding light that was lingering. As he burst out of the doorway he found Nick floating in confusion while his shadow elongated to an impossibly long length, _detached_ from Nick, twitched a few times and vanished with an ear-piercing scream.

"Ryan, what the hell did you do!" Matt demanded as he struggled to walk towards the floating angel. "Ryan? Ryan! Hey, what's wrong with you?" Matt demanded, but when he reached Ryan he pulled back as soon as his hand touched the angel. His skin was ice-cold, but out of his mouth and eyes leapt bright white flames that, while slowly diminishing, scared the living hell out of him. What had Ryan done to generate such an attack, and what the hell was the backlash doing to him?

"He's dead," Dnorith said as he appeared next to his successor. "The attack he used needed far more power then he could have ever hoped to have at this time, so the attack used most of his life as part of its fuel."

"What?" Matt shouted in shock, temporarily forgetting about his own pain.

"Amazing what the dangers of so powerful an attack are, isn't it?" Dnorith asked cheerfully, raising a hand to keep Matt from bringing Lightning Edge to bear. "Do you think I've become so cold hearted that I could say such things when there was no way to reverse it?"

"How do we reverse it then?" Matt demanded, spinning the god around to face him.

"It's already begun. You might want to get away from here, and you may want to take Nick with you. This is going to be a rather powerful display," Dnorith said with a chuckle before disappearing in a burst of lightning, leaving Matt to gather up his friend and dive in the Celsius for what cover the ship would give.

It was the only time in memory that the Thunder Plains had ever had sunshine for three straight hours.


	16. The Farplane Shakes!

Wow... all good things must come to an end, I suppose. RIP RotG... look for Requiem of Divinty soon. Hope you enjoy

* * *

The Farplane Shakes! The Battle Royal, with Spira's future as the prize!

Nick felt like he'd been torn to shreds, burned alive, and then slapped back together, and he wasn't just talking about physically. There was a pain like he'd never experienced before, and he had no idea where it originated from, just that it _wasn't_ from his body. Groaning loudly as he cracked his eyes open he once again found himself staring at the ceiling of the room he'd been in after the fight with Yojimbo. "I'm beginning to hate this room…"

"_You're_ beginning to hate it?" Ryan's voice cu through the silence incredulously. "How the hell do you think _I _feel?" Nick glanced over to see Ryan sitting next to a bed on the other side of the wall.

"What're you doing here? You don't look hurt," Nick noted as he glanced his friend over.

"I'm not here to heal. I'm here to guard," Ryan stated, his cheerful voice becoming surprisingly serious. Nick raised an eyebrow, and Ryan continued. "We don't know why, but you went nuts, like I did back at Yojimbo's cave. You nearly killed Matt, Seph, myself, and…"

"And?" Nick prompted after several seconds of silence. Ryan lowered his eyes and jerked his head towards the bed he was sitting next to. Nick rolled his eyes and swung his legs over, walking over to the bed. "Brooke…?" He questioned in shock, the color draining from his face as he took in her almost impossibly pale skin, a faded crescent shaped scar crossing her neck expertly, and he had a feeling that there were several more beneath the blankets. The thought that he could have done that to someone he cared about so much made him sick to his stomach. His knees gave out as he tried to escape the sight, and although he couldn't actually see her face from the floor he couldn't get the image out of his head. "But… no… why…?"

"We don't know," Ryan confessed. "Since it happened Seph's been pouring over that book of his, but he hasn't turned up anything. JT tried to do something, but that didn't work either. Said something about it just being… _black_ inside of you."

"Will she… will she be ok?" Nick asked in a hollow voice.

"Yeah… but barely. She lost an almost fatal amount of blood. If Melody had arrived a minute later she'd have been too far gone to help," Ryan said quietly. "Anyway, I think it's best if you go take a walk and try to figure out what happened for yourself. At the very least we don't want Brooke waking up, seeing you, and starting a commotion."

"Yeah…" Nick agreed absently as he shuffled off, Brooke's pale face burned into the forefront of his mind.

888

JT popped an eye open as the door next to him opened up and Rae stepped in. He frowned at his sister's appearance. Her hair was a wreck, her eyes were red, and gave of the aura of someone who'd given up. "What's wrong with you? I thought Yuna and Melody said Brooke would be ok in a few weeks," He asked as his sister sat down on her bed, pulled her legs up to her chest, and rested her head against her knees.

"They did," she said quietly. "That doesn't make seeing your best friend lying so close to death any easier." She glanced up with a raised eyebrow and looked him square in the eyes. "What're you doing in my room, anyway?"

"Our room," Seph corrected as he walked in, flopping a book down in JT's lap before wrapping his arms around Rae. "Or am I not permitted to approach anymore?"

"Oh, shut up," Rae said with a slight smile as she leaned her head against the assassin's chest. "But what _are _you doing here, JT?"

"I was waiting for this," he said as he hefted the book. "And now I'll leave you two alone. I think Melody's still a bit shaken up about all this anyway," JT said as he left with a wave.

"What was that book about?" Rae questioned

"Something about the gods," Seph said with a shrug. "He said 'If I can learn something about our enemy, then we'll all have a better chance of living' and there's not much to argue against that kind of statement."

"I… don't think I'm going to come with…" Rae said quietly, which only caused Seph to chuckle lightly.

"I'd be worried if you did," Seph explained when she looked at him curiously. "Besides, we're going to need people on the top to make sure that, in the event we can't stop Shuyin but can stop Vegnagun, everything stays alright up here. Not to mention I couldn't ask you to come with Brooke so hurt."

"Wait… what do you mean 'in the event we can't stop Shuyin'?" Rae asked in shock. "It's not like you guys are going to lose. You're _gods_!"

Seph ran a hand over his face and sighed. "Don't forget about Yevon, who has Andy's powers as well as his own Plus, we _still _don't know what happened to Lusniec, but his last allegiance _was _with Yevon, or at the very least against Ryan." He forced a smile and for the first time in her life, Rae saw uncertainty clear on the assassin's face, mingled with a bit of fear. "Plus Shuyin and Vegnagun."

"Then wouldn't it be better if we came with…?" Rae asked slowly.

"No. If we stop Vegnagun, it'll take Yevon years to come up with a plan to destroy Spira. God or not, he can't just snap his fingers and blow it up. You and Brooke and Kitty and JT _need _to stay alive, haggle him, stall him as long as you can," The assassin explained as he pulled her into a tight hug.

Stunned at what she'd just heard, Rae couldn't even hug back. For the first time in his life, Seph found himself wishing that someone in his presence would stop trembling.

888

JT put the heavy book down on the end table as he walked into the room he shared with Melody and found her sitting on their bed with her legs pulled up to her chest and her face buried in them. "Melody? What's wrong?" he asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I can't do it," She whispered without looking up. "I can't keep pretending that I can keep up with the rest of you. Gods and legendary Guardians, the high summoner, cat-people, deranged angels, a body hopping unsent, and a machine that can destroy the entire planet?! I just…"

JT patted her shoulder and when she looked up he gave her a reassuring smile. "Nobody's asking you to, Melody," he said as he wiped her tears away gently.

"I'm sorry," She whispered as she closed her eyes and fought to hold back more tears.

"Don't be sorry. For someone who's not used to fighting fiends on a daily basis, or dealing with gods or angels or psychopaths hell-bent on destroying Spira, you did an amazing job given that we were dealing with… gods and angels and psychopaths hell-bent on destroying Spira!" he said with a little chuckle.

"I suppose… well, I suppose that's true…" she whispered so quietly that JT had to move up right next to her to hear her. "Thanks, JT…"

The red-eyed Al Bhed grinned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry, Melody," he whispered as he pulled her closer. "We're not going with to the final fight anyway."

"Why not?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow as she looked him over.

"Because they're going to be dealing with Gods, deranged angels, a body hoping unsent, and a machine that can destroy the planet. No room for new faces in this fight," He explained with a wink. "Besides, somebody's gotta make sure Spira doesn't fall apart while they're down there."

"Well, you guys certainly think things through, I have to give you that…" she admitted with a sigh.

888

"Kitty-chan's not coming?" Sakura asked in surprise. "I don't get it, why not?"

Matt rubbed his face and let out a sigh. "Kitty's one of our best fighters, true."

"All the more reason to bring her with!" Sakura pointed out, but Matt waved the comment away.

"We need to make sure that there's still people we know we can trust on the surface to take care of things while we're stopping Yevon," Matt explained as he flopped onto the bed. "Kitty, JT, Melody, Brooke, the Celsius' crew, Baby… they're all going to be staying up here to make sure that everything stays ok. Wakka and Lulu will help them out as much as they can, but they've got their boy to take care of. The Youth League, New Yevon, and the Machina Faction are in disarray without their leaders. Spira _needs _to be watched out for while we're taking care of this."

"I suppose that makes sense…" Sakura admitted with a nod. "I suppose I'd forgotten about the fact that Nooj-san, Gippal-san, and Baralai-san were the heads of the three major governments. Without them the world really _is _falling apart."

"Exactly. So while our job is tough…" Matt glanced at Sakura with a grin. "Keeping the masses from killing each other is harder."

"I hate politics," Sakura confessed with a shiver. "I almost prefer going to fight Yevon…"

"I agree."

"What about Nick-kun?" Sakura asked after a few minutes.

"What about him?" Matt questioned.

"After what happened are you sure it's ok for him to be coming with…?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Yep," Matt said without hesitation.

Sakura frowned at how quick he'd answered. "You didn't even think about it."

"Don't need to," Matt explained simply.

"And why's that?" Sakura demanded, a bit more of an edge coming into her voice then she'd intended. Matt raised an eyebrow as he looked her over before sitting up with a slight smirk. "What?"

"You're scared of him," Matt stated, causing Sakura to nearly fall of the chair she was leaning back in.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"You saw what he did to me and Seph. You're afraid that it'll happen again," Matt said slowly, and Sakura could feel her cheeks blazing as she looked at the floor. "Don't be."

"How can I not be?" she demanded. "He nearly _killed_ you, Seph-san, and Brooke-chan! You and Seph-san are _gods_! And you've both got a lot more talent when it comes to controlling your powers then I do…"

"Well, for one thing he'd have to get through me again to get to you, which _won't _happen," Matt said with a confident grin. "And secondly, there's _no way_ that that was Nick."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura asked with confusion evident in his voice.

"Sakura… do you _really_ think that _Nick_ is that strong? Strong enough to take out _two_ gods?" Matt asked seriously. "It's the same thing that happened to Ryan. Something else entirely was in control, something far stronger then Nick is. Whatever it was, fighting with Ryan seems to have driven it out of him completely." He shrugged helplessly and Sakura just shook her head and laughed.

"I still don't see how he could've driven out something that nearly killed you and Seph-san, but if you say it's gone…" she shrugged and leaned back in her chair again. "I suppose that's good enough for me."

"I'm glad that you trust me so much," Matt said with a grin as he laid back down.

"Well, from what I've seen, I could find someone less reliable to put my trust in," Sakura said cheerfully, and this time Matt was the one shaking his head and laughing quietly.

888

"What're you going to do?" Nick looked up and found Ryan watching him form the doorway.

"Dunno. Can't say I'm positive that it's a good thing I'm going with," Nick admitted as he went back to watching the sunset out of his window.

"Not like you to doubt yourself," Ryan commented.

"Not like me to try and kill all of my friends," Nick shot back harshly.

"I did the same thing, in case you forgot," Ryan stated. "You don't see me wondering if it's ok for me to be coming with."

"You have to help deal with Yevon," Nick stated.

"You have to help fight everything else," Ryan countered.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" Nick asked with a slight grin.

"When do I _ever_ make it easy?" Ryan asked curiously.

"Very rarely…" Nick said with a sigh.

"Then give up, get your gear, and get to the bridge," Ryan said before closing the door. Nick watched the sunset, his mind whirling. Maybe he was being foolish. It really wasn't like him to doubt himself, yet here he was, unsure of what to do because of something he'd had no control over.

On top of that, he doubted that Ryan had completely destroyed that which had taken control of him. In fact he _knew_ Ryan hadn't, though he couldn't prove it. Still, the whispers had yet to be wrong, and that's what worried him most.

_You _are _a curious one_. Nick's eyes widened as he glanced around. He could _feel_ someone in the room, but he was certainly alone.

"Who's there?" He asked quietly.

_I'm here on behalf of Lord Lusniec!_ The feminine voice declared happily.

"What? Lusniec's alive?!" Nick asked in a hushed but urgent voice.

_Well… I don't know exactly…_ the voice confessed, and Nick could hear a hint of fear in the voice. _The last time I heard from him, he said to assure you that he'd taken care of the shade that possessed you, and that you shouldn't tell anyone about this conversation!_

"He took care of the thing that possessed me…?" Nick asked slowly. "Why?"

_Something about it interfering with his plan… and an old grudge!_

"Uh-huh…" Nick said slowly. "So there's no chance of that thing coming back then…"

_I dunno, I'm just the messenger! And now that my message has been delivered, I'm going back to stay where I was told to stay!_

"Where's that?" Nick questioned.

_With Usi! She's having a hard time dealing with Vena's condition, and Lord Lusniec wanted to make sure she was okay so he ordered me to stay with her!_

"Vena's condition…?" Nick asked in a voice that made it clear he was looking for an explanation.

_Vena's dying! And Usi's not taking it well, and 'cause of that I gotta go stay with her rather then follow all you cute guys around!_ The voice said in an annoyed tone before a miniature whirlwind swept through the room and out the window.

"Vena's dying…?" Nick whispered in shock to the empty room. Whispers filtered through the room, confirming the question, and he just shook his head. He knew very little about the gods, but he did know that a god dying would have major effects on Spira. He chewed on his lip as he looked over at his weapons. "Fear and doubt are worthless emotion that dulls the blade and the senses. Do not doubt, do not hesitate, and strike to kill," He said to himself and chuckled. "That's what you said Auron, and you've yet to be wrong…"

With that thought lingering in his mind, he grabbed his weapon and started towards the bridge.

888

"Made up your mind? Who's going with and where will you jump in?" Brother asked as everyone filtered into the bridge.

"Yes," Yuna said. "Myself, Rikku, Paine Seph, Nick, Ryan, Matt, and Sakura-chan are going to jump into the Besaid temple's hole. The rest of you are going to stay on the surface, and make sure that everything stays ok up here."

"A good plan. What about Snow-chan and Baby-chan? Are they coming with us or staying up top?" Sakura asked as she hugged Snow closer.

"I think it'd be best if they stayed up top," Matt said as he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Right…" Sakura said quietly as she kissed Snow on the nose. "Well, I suppose it just gives us something to look forward to when we get back."

"Nothing like the unconditional love of a pet to inspire someone to come back," Nick said with a grin. "But enough of this, Besaid was the closest hole, that's why we chose it. Let's get going!"

"Decided to come with us, then?" Ryan questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't have much of a choice. I was already named in the invasion force, after all," Nick pointed out with a laugh.

"You're all really going in?" Brother asked.

"Yep!" Yuna confirmed.

"The time for invasion has come! Sphere hunter team Gullwi... Hm? Your friendly neigh... Heh? What are we called now?" he asked, giving up on coming up with a name for the team off the top of his head.

"Does it really matter?" Shinra questioned from his spot at the council.

"Good point…" Brother admitted as he grinned. "Surging Flapping Neighboring Gullwings, attack!" he shouted energetically.

"Whoa! Such passion!" Buddy admitted.

"Seriously!" Rikku agreed.

"I'm so moved," Paine put in.

"So's my stomach," JT joked.

"At any rate, let's go!" Yuna said cheerfully.

"The Gullwings last mission," Shinra said slowly. "Let's do it!"

"Hey, hey, hey none of this 'last mission' business, you hear?" Buddy ordered.

"For me… it probably will be," Shinra clarified, drawing a sad silence as he walked over and hugged Yuna. "Be careful."

Yuna smiled and hugged him back. "I'll be fine. We've got three gods on our side after all."

"Save the huggy-huggies for your triumphant return! Yes!" Brother ordered with a giggle. "All right! It's only an hour until we are reaching Besaid! Invasion force! Time for getting ready!"

"Looks like this is it. Time to get ready everyone!" Matt said as Brother hopped into the pilots chair and gunned the engines.

888

"We've still got Aeons to face, you know," Ryan reminded as they walked through the temple. The group had explained to Lulu and Wakka what they were going to do. Though the two had, predictably, expressed a great deal of concern they also knew that, under the circumstances, they couldn't stop them. So with a sad wave they'd sent the group on their way, and given those staying behind a place to rest until they pulled themselves together.

"I can't believe it…" Ryan whispered as he looked around the antechamber. "This is the only temple we never went in…"

"Yeah…" Matt agreed in awe.

"It was in much better shape when you first arrived in Spira though," Yuna said sadly. "Its upkeep hasn't been the most… important thing in the past few years."

"Ummm… has everyone forgotten that I collapsed the room to the Fayth when I fought Valefor?" Nick asked slowly.

"I doubt that, even if the temples have become less important, they've neglected to clean your little mess up," Ryan said with a laugh as they pushed their way through the doors and into the chamber of the faith. The room beyond was shattered and dust hung heavy in the air, lit eerily by the faint glow of pyreflies as they leaked out of the giant hole in the ground. "Well… pleasant appearance! And to think, that hole is where we're headed…"

"Does it surprise you?" Matt asked as he patted the Angel on the back. "Don't we _always_ end up going into the creepy places first?"

"What do you think it's like down there…" Sakura asked quietly as she crept towards the hole and peered over the edge. "I can't even see the bottom!"

"Lovely," Seph remarked dryly.

"Alright everyone, into the seemingly endless hole!" Ryan put in cheerfully as he walked over to the lip of the edge and turned to face them all. "Well," he said in as British voice as he could, "Cheerio!" As Rikku and Sakura giggled he leaned back, plummeting head first into the hole.

888

"Incoming!" Matt shouted when he saw Ryan stop below him. As he fell he looked around. The walls and the sole pathway were lit by pyreflies floating around lazily. He half wished they weren't there to illuminate it. The ground, walls, everything seemed to be made out of rock-like webs that were suspended in mid-air by seemingly nothing. A shiver ran down his spine just thinking about what might have made such an area. "Any idea which way to go?" he asked Ryan as the two walked a little ways down the path, looking for fiends.

"Something's not right…" Ryan muttered, and when Matt glanced at his friends hand he could see Ryan's knuckles whitening as he gripped Wind Cutter. "You'd think Yevon would have it more heavily defended."

"Only if we don't have a ways to go," Matt countered as Seph, who was bringing down the rest of the group, walked up behind them. The three exchanged glances and started down the path wordlessly. Walking through the twisting and turning path in an uncertain silence, Matt's mind raced as he considered what they were about to do. Could they _really_ beat Yevon without killing Andy? Was it possible for them to do it period, when Yevon had learned to flawlessly combined the power of two gods, even if he, Seph, and Ryan worked together? What about Vegnagun? Could that thing really be stopped by Yuna and the others?

"Relax," Sakura whispered as she squeezed his hand, gently bringing him back to the world around him. "We'll stop this guy and then everything will be ok!"

"Yeah, even Yevon can't take all of us on at once," Matt agreed with a nod.

"What about her?" Matt was about to question what Seph meant when he felt an artic wind sweep through the area. His eyes widened as he looked up and found himself staring face-to-face with Shiva, and the Ice Aeon didn't seem too thrilled to see him. Before he could do anything, before he could even reach for Lightning Edge, Sakura grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him to the ground, placing herself between the group and the Aeon just as it unleashed a blizzard spell.

"My element," the heiress hissed as the fact that she was the ice goddess wormed its way back into her mind, "_can't hurt me_!" With a shout of triumph Sakura pushed through the flurry of ice and cracked the Aeon across the face with one of her tonfas. "And _nobody_ tries freezing my boyfriend while I'm around!" she added as Shiva staggered backwards, a look of confusion evident on the Aeon's face. Sakura grinned and motioned for the Aeon to try again, and received a scowl as her reward.

"We don't have time to screw around, Sakura-chan!" Ryan shouted as the ice heiress slowly stalked towards the Aeon.

"Sakura-chan, move!" Yuna shouted suddenly, but the ice heiress just turned and looked at her in confusion.

"Game over," Ryan stated quietly, causing the ice heiress even more confusion. What were they talking about? Glancing back at Shiva, who was charging at her with a smug grin, she realized she didn't have time to worry about it. She ducked under one kick, and went to jump over a second.

She didn't move. She glanced down as her head snapped back due to Shiva's kick and realized what was wrong through the sharp pain. The ice Aeon had taken advantage of her arrogance and frozen her feet to the ground, and her own powers' side effect of not being uncomfortable in cold temperatures had prevented her from realizing it, and now she was in a lot of trouble. She understood that the second Shiva landed a second kick that forced the air out of her lungs and doubled her over. She squeezed her eyes shut as another kick connected with her temple and sent something warm running down the side of her face. It effected her hearing as well, she realized, as the sound of birds chirping filled her ears. How could birds be in the Farplane and still be singing? The thought didn't make any sense as she struggled to stay coherent.

"Sakura, you ok?" the goddess forced an eye open to find Matt and Ryan peering down at her curiously, and both seemed more then slightly worried.

"What happened…?" she asked slowly as she pressed her hand against her temple gently. The hair was still matted down with her own blood, but at least it was no longer bleeding. That, at least, was more then Shiva could say. A dozen feet away the Aeon lay on the ground, convulsing and clutching futilely at the gapping hole in it's chest as pyreflies slowly began to hide the scene from view.

"Well, after taking a hit to the head," Ryan said cheerfully, tapping his own head jokingly, "you stopped moving. Or… doing much of anything for that matter. We got a bit worried so we stepped in. Well…" the entire group glanced at the cloud of pyreflies for a second then all eyes turned to Matt. "Actually, _he_ decided to step in. Was quite the scene. That Raikiri was the fastest I've ever seen one formed!"

"Yeah well, someone had to do something, because she sure as hell wasn't," Seph stated as he started off towards the only path that moved downward.

"He's always so pleasant…" Sakura muttered as Matt helped her to her feet. "Well, thanks everyone. That… just, thanks…"

"Hey, Sakura-cha, enough with the sappy attitude. It doesn't fit you at all!" Ryan pointed out jokingly as he followed Seph down the path.

"Besides, what are friends for if not to pick you up when you're down?" Yuan asked as she patted the ice goddess on the back and ushered her forward with an encouraging smile.

888

"That was cold Seph, even for you," Ryan pointed out when he caught up to the water god.

"It's a fact and you know it as well as I do," Seph replied evenly.

"Have you ever heard of the word 'tactfulness'?" Ryan questioned.

"It's something I employ often," Seph told him without missing a beat. "This is one of those times. What good is a goddess who can't bea the Aeon using her element going to be in the upcoming fight?"

"What good is insulting her going to do?" Ryan countered with a hint of annoyance in his voice as they arrived at another large, flat level. "Listen Seph. You're part of a _team _now, not some solo-god assassin anymore. You need to think about the impact your actions are going to have on the other members of the team."

"So long as we stop Yevon, I don't care what my actions do to the team," Seph said slowly, an ice warning in his voice. "And if you keep this up-"

"Move!" Ryan shouted, cutting him off as a line of fire shot towards Seph, who waved a hand and countered it with an equally powerful blast of water that left a wall of steam between the two and their attackers.

"Great," Seph commented sarcastically. "The Magus Sisters. Where's Matt when I need him?"

"About a dozen feet behind you," The lightning god commented as he sent his axes through a few twirls. "How'd you know it was the Magus Sisters?"

"Saw it before the steam. Ready?" Seph asked as a dozen pendulums dropped out of his sleeves.

"Moot point, they're not going to wait," Matt pointed out. "I'll take the fat one."

"I'll take the little one then. Neither of you could hit her anyway," Seph muttered as he turned to Ryan. "Think you can handle the tall one?"

"Do I have a choice?" Ryan questioned as Wind Cutter cleared its sheath.

888

Sakura could barely believe the sight below here. Fire, water, lightning, Wind Cutters, and Seph's pendulums flashed around the steam-covered battlefield so fast that Sakura couldn't tell where one attack ended and another began. "Who… who're they fighting?"

"The only Aeons left are the Magus Sisters and Anima, and neither would be an easy fight," Yuna said quietly as she gripped her pistols tightly. "And Anima doesn't use fire. It has to be the Magus Sisters."

"Sisters? How many sisters?" Nick questioned as his eyes took in the sight of his friends struggles in the brief glimpses one of them was free of the steam.

"Three. Cindy, Mindy, and Sandy. They're unbelievably powerful, even compared to Anima, and since there are 3 of them they can watch out for each other."

"So can Ryan and Matt and Seph though," Sakura countered.

"No, not Seph," Paine corrected. "He's not a team player. He's always worked alone, and that's not changing. Most of the time that's fine, since our fights are only against fiends or they're one-on-one. But this is a team fight, not a one-on-one fight."

"Seph may be a god and an assassin, but he's still an idiot." All eyes turned to Nick who watched the fight calmly. "Ryan and Matt are going to use this as a chance to prove that."

"How?" Yuna asked, but Nick's answer was drowned out by the sound of birds chirping. Immediately all eyes found Matt, Lightning Edge buried into the ground a dozen feet away as a wall of water lifted the largest of the three Aeons high enough to force the group to look up.

"Just keep watching. You'll understand!" Nick told them as Cindy suddenly dropped from the sky. Sakura screamed as the two disappeared in an explosion of dirt and rock that left only a hole in its wake. Without missing a beat Ryan forced Sandy back and disappeared down the hole in a flutter of feathers.

888

Seph couldn't believe it. Ryan, being himself, had gone and left him alone against two powerful foes. "So much for thinking about how his actions affect the team," the assassin muttered as the second half of his pendulums dropped down out of his sleeve and clattered to the ground. Oh well, even if the others were incompetent it didn't bother him.

That was, after all, the reason he worked alone wasn't it? On top of that, he wasn't your average guy. He reminded himself of that as he positioned himself so he could see both Mindy and Sandy without turning his head.

"Well ladies, don't keep me waiting too long," He muttered as he readied himself for the attacks he knew were on the way. A line of fire launched itself at him and he spun to the side to avoid it as he raised a wall of water to stop the stingers that Mindy launched at him. Using his defense as an offense, the second the stingers ceased slamming against his protection he thrust a hand forward. The water responded immediately, small high-powered blast shooting right through the few stingers coming at him and heading right towards Mindy.

Sandy ruined his attack however. Slipping between her sister and Seph flames flared up around her arms. Spinning around the flames grew, quickly engulfing the area around her in a tornado of fire that reached dozens of feet into the air, and quickly evaporated Seph's attack. Before he could even frown Mandy launched another wave of stingers through the fire, which stayed with them as the flew through the air towards the water-god so quickly it was all he could do to snap his body back to avoid being impaled on the burning projectiles.

Before he could even regain his balance Sandy was there, blades of fire shooting out of her arm as it drove down towards his heart, and only years of battle training his body to react faster then his mind saved him, though as his hand drove Sandy's blow far enough away to avoid a fatal hit it took a large burn across his palm in the process. Cursing as he dropped to the ground he shot himself with a large blast of water that sent him tumbling across the ground a half dozen feet to avoid another barrage from Mindy. On his feet faster then he'd ever been before he took a kick to the stomach that lifted him off the ground and right into Mindy's firing line. A pendulum trailing a line of water shot into the ground and pulled with all his strength.

He fell too slowly. Three of the stingers pierced his leg as he fell, ripping a cry of anguish from his throat as he hit the ground. Grimacing in pain he barely registered a punch from the taller one until his head created cracks in the ground. He groaned and coughed which left a metallic taste in his mouth and splattered red onto the ground. This was bad. His vision was swimming, and he was keenly aware of just how much more dangerous the situation had become when he tried to stand and could barely manage to avoid falling to the ground.

"Need some help?" the assassin's head snapped in the direction of the mockingly cheerful voice.

"Nick… stay out of this…" he growled, though the only reply he got was a laugh. "I'm warning you! I'll-"

"You'll what? Get up and hit me? You can barely stand, let alone fight," Nick stated with a laugh. "Shut up, sit down, and watch as best you can. Time for you to see what two years of training against Matt and Ryan will do."

"Fine, if you want to die I won't stop you. At least make yourself useful and kill one of them first," Seph barked as he lowered himself to the ground carefully. Nick wasn't the most phenomenally talented person in the group, they both knew it, and there was no way he was going to beat two of the three Magus Sisters. After all, Seph was most deadly when fighting groups of people. If he couldn't beat them, how did he expect to?

888

"Alright then! Well ladies, please don't keep me waiting. I'm a busy guy!" Nick taunted cheerfully. He was more then aware of the odds against him, and doubt he could beat the two sisters alone.

Didn't bother him though, since he knew Matt and Ryan were on their way back. On top of that, he didn't have time to worry about it. Stingers spiraled through the air towards him, and he was barely able to spin out of the way and draw his weapons to meet Sandy's attack head on. Slipping under the tall insect-woman's arm he was nearly able to open her stomach up, but a swift kick to his stomach sent Nick rolling backwards and into a crouched ready stance. Without thinking his body snapped back, avoiding one of Sandy's blades that had been headed towards his throat, before snapping forward and head-butting the Aeon with enough force to force her to stagger backwards.

Nick didn't even think as he moved. Instinct replaced rational thought as combat reflexes honed through two years of training with Auron, Matt, and Ryan took over. He fell inside himself as he whirled and rolled out of the way of attacks, his mind almost completely detached from the actions of his body.

"_Wagner_!" The shout brought Nick's attention back to the fight with frightening speed. He planted one foot, ducked under a blast of stingers from Mindy, and repealed an attack from Sandy by slashing at her stomach. As the Aeons repositioned themselves to attack the ground exploded in a shower of semi-sharp rocks.

888

"Tricky…" Paine commented as Matt and Ryan burst through the ground, much to the surprise of the remaining Magus Sisters. Before Sandy even had a chance to look down Wind Cutter split her in two from her hip to her opposite shoulder, reducing her to the pyreflies that made up her body in the blink of an eye. Matt took a slight more brutal approach, using his axe as a baseball bat he sent Mindy sailing through the air with enough force for those watching to hear the axe-head connecting with the Aeon and shattering her into hundreds of pyreflies as well.

"They sure know how to make an entrance…" Sakura whispered with slight awe evident in her voice.

"We should really make sure Seph's still alive…" Rikku said suddenly as the assassin went limp and fell backwards and into the red pool growing on the ground around him.

"He'll be fine. He's too stubborn to die." Everyone turned to look at Paine curiously before Yuna began making her way down the now treacherous path leading to the battle-field.

888

"You see Seph? Going solo doesn't pay off," Nick said cheerfully as Yuna healed the assassin's wounds.

"I'll still kill you," Seph replied bitterly, which drew a snicker from the man anyway.

"Maybe you should wait until you're not in danger of bleeding to death to be making threats," Ryan commented absent mindedly as he stared down the path that led to the next large stone.

"What's on your mind?" Rikku asked as she walked and tugged on his sleeve nervously.

"What do you think is on that one?" Ryan questioned as he pointed to the next battleground.

"Ummmm… anot-"

"Anima," Matt stated, cutting Rikku off and drawing a worried look from the original trio of Gullwings. "That _is_ what you were thinking, isn't it?"

"Yeah… the only one we haven't faced," Ryan said with a snicker. "What a let down…"

"Yeah… I was kinda hoping these three would be last. No fun killing Anima," Matt agreed as he recalled how he, Andy, and Ryan had killed Anima in the Thunder Plains on Yuna's pilgrimage.

"You two are rather confident…" Seph noted as he waved Yuna away and stood up slowly.

"We killed Anima before we had any real grip on our powers," Matt explained, though the look on Seph's face led him to believe that the assassin was well aware of their battle. "It should be easy now, too."

"Well we'll leave him to you then," Yuna said nervously.

"Yeah! I'm not liking the idea of fighting that… _thing_ anyway," Rikku added with a shiver.

"Well, Anima was a rather ugly girl…" Ryan said jokingly.

"Who gave birth do the single most annoying being in existence…" Matt added with a slight twitch as he recalled Seymour.

"I wonder how long before he pops back up…" Seph wondered aloud before starting down the path that would lead to Anima.

"Not long enough!" Yuna said angrily. "If I never see him again it'll be too soon!"

"Go Yunie!" Rikku said cheerfully. "No more dead Maesters for us!"

"Just their Aeons," Seph chimed in gloomily as he forced his way to the head of the group in time to see the chain that pulled the mummified Aeon into existence appeared and began its descent.

"Maybe not…" Nick said more to himself then the rest of the group, but the peculiar statement had everyone looking at him. He just nodded towards the chain, shifting the group's attention on the chain. Seconds ticked by docilely, but Nick's face only grew slightly more worried as each second passed by.

As Paine opened her mouth to comment the ominously dark atmosphere shook and then exploded. White flames raced across the realm, incinerating entire slabs of rock on contact, but traveling just as easily through the air until as it did over rock until it reached the half-summoned Anima. The Aeon let out a heart-stopping, agonized screech as the white flames broke the chain down into nothing but pyreflies which dispersed as the flames engulfed Anima herself. The clothes that normally protected the Aeon exploded in bursts of dark energy all over her, like dark-purple fireworks against a snow-white sky. Withered flesh bubbled and blistered before the Aeon exploded in a wave of ash that covered the entire slab that Anima had been on, with enough left drifting through the air to cause the group's eyes to water as they stood in terrified awe.

"What the hell… was that?" Paine asked as she sat down gracelessly in an attempt to steady her trembling legs. "To destroy Anima so… _easily_…"

"That was holy energy…" Seph observed, glancing back at Ryan with an annoyed look. "I thought you killed Lusniec."

"So did I!" Ryan snapped back and catching everyone off guard before sighing and starting down the path with a white-knuckled grip on Wind Cutter's hilt.

"Well, something got under his skin awfully quick," Rikku commented quietly.

"Don't worry about it. If you'd thought you'd killed Lusniec only to see… whatever the hell that was… you might be a bit upset too," Yuna said comfortingly as she gave her cousin a hug. "Not to mention that it's… well… Lusniec! How much has Lusniec put him through over these past few years?"

"That's true…" Rikku said with a bit more of her perky attitude in her voice. "I suppose you're right!"

"Of course she's right, she's High Summoner Yuna," Matt commented with a laugh before following his suddenly short-tempered friend down to examine the ash-covered path before them.

888

"He wasn't dead…" Ryan stated with a grim chuckle when he heard Matt approaching. "Any idea what that means, Matt?"

"That we don't get to have a party where you're so happy you get plastered yet?" Matt quipped jokingly.

"He left… before I woke up, without Wind Cutter, with Shinagami, and without killing me," Ryan continued in an aggravated voice. "What's he thinking?"

"Better to let you squirm then kill you right away? Besides, he could've r--"

"I think we'd all be better of if you didn't finish that sentence," Ryan said as he shuddered and made a gagging noise. "God, why the hell'd you go and stick that image in my head?!"

"Because I'm a cold-hearted, sadistic bastard," Matt stated light-heartedly and without hesitation, and even in his present mood Ryan couldn't help but laugh at the comment. "Seriously though... why are you even trying to understand why he let you live _and_ take his sword? I would've thought you'd have figured out by now that you just can't understand the mind of a several thousand year old gay guy with a huge ass sword! Being gay so long has screwed with his mind I tell you!"

"Because it's annoying me that I _don't_ know what he's thinking," Ryan replied helplessly. "You should know that after two years under the same roof."

"No time to be idle you two, let's go," Seph ordered as he led the rest of the group past them without a glance. Didn't matter though. Seph's normally emotionless eyes betrayed his uneasiness, as did his quickened pace. The display had set the assassin on edge, and Matt wondered just who that was more dangerous for: Seph's enemies, or Seph's allies.

"Yeah, yeah, relax. I'll deal with Lusniec, so you just focus on Yevon," Ryan called with a snicker as the assassin disappeared onto the spiral path that lead on.

"Alone? Nick questioned, a flicker of concern on his features for a second before Ryan waved the comment away.

"I've cut him in half and beat him one-on-one. This time I'll make sure he stays dead. He's nearly as bad as Seymour!" Ryan pointed out with a laugh.

"Yuna. I'm sorry." The familiarity of the voice caused the group to turn around slowly to find the Fayth that had brought Tidus to Spira standing there. "We weren't strong enough to stop him. We wanted to at least warn someone… but instead we were dragged into the darkness. We're no better then fiends."

"It's alright," Yuna said gently as she walked over and sat on her knees to give the Fayth a warm smile.

"Hey now, isn't this what we're here for? To help out when Spira needs it?" Ryan questioned.

"Forgive us," the Fayth replied in a whisper anyway.

"Please, tell me, what is he?" Yuna asked and the Fayth looked at her seriously.

"Shuyin? Just a shadow," it said already holding up a hand to stop a sarcastic comment from Nick. "It may look like him, but the real Shuyin died long ago. Even after a thousand years, his hate and misery linger on. His feelings grew so strong they began to act on their own will… eventually they became a shadow – a shade like thing that only wishes to vanish, but can't."

"Just a shadow… I can handle a shadow," Yuna said confidently.

"Are you sure?" The Fayth questioned in a worried voice.

"Yes. Leave it to me!"

"Hey now Yunie, don't go forgetting about us!" Rikku said with a grin that made the High-Summoner giggle.

"Alright, leave it to _us_ then," Yuna corrected herself as the Fayth disappeared. "I'll banish shadow with light."

"Light?" Rikku asked in a confused tone.

"Lenne's feelings," Paine explained with an annoyed look on her face.

"That's right. Call it… love."

888

"What is Lusniec _doing_?" Yevon hissed frustration as he paced back and forth in front of Vegnagun impatiently.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," the deranged angel's voice echoed eerily throughout the area of the Farplane they'd hidden Vegnagun in, despite the fact that he clearly wasn't there.

"You're still keep us waiting, you homosexual freak," Shuyin muttered bitterly. "Get your ass out here!"

"Testy, as always," Lusniec commented as pyreflies gathered behind Shuyin. Before the unsent could blink there was a flash, and then the angel was standing there, staring at Shuyin with a gaze that clearly showed that he felt superior to the unsent in every way. Shuyin scowled and was about to lash out at Lusniec, but the superior gaze turned murderous the instant he opened his mouth. Shuyin was used to people wanting to kill him, and murderous intent rarely ever effected him to any degree.

At that moment the waves of murderous intent coming off for Lusniec effectively paralyzed him on the spot. His body's hand trembled so violently that he sent his staff spinning across the ground unintentionally. Before anyone could comment on the event he turned and reached for the weapon, but he could hear Lusniec's snickers so clearly he doubted that the angel was even trying to hide them.

"You're late," Yevon growled, and for a second Shuyin wondered if the insane god would kill the angel then and there.

"Sorry, I was checking up on their progress through the path of the Farplane." Shuyin cursed inwardly, knowing that Yevon wouldn't kill the angel.

"Where are they?" Yevon demanded, and Shuyin couldn't help but notice how much calmer his voice was as compared to what it'd been a few seconds earlier.

"They'll be here with a half hour. They'd have been here already, but they've met up with Gippal and Nooj, who they stopped and spoke with." Shuyin stood up and slammed his staff into the ground before turning to face his partners.

"Let them come. It just means we finally crush the life out of them once and for all!" he stated without making any attempt to hide the bitterness he felt for all of Spira. "Then we'll blow that accursed planet apart, and _everyone_ will live in the darkness!"

"Well, I don't think it'll be quite that simple…" Lusniec stated as he tapped the bottom of Demon Edge's long sheath against the ground before shrugging helplessly. "Ah well." Yevon eyed angel suspiciously for a second and Lusniec returned the suspicious gaze with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"You're going to stop Ryan," Yevon said strictly. Overly strictly, given that Lusniec had originally joined the deranged god for just that purpose. In the back of his mind he wondered, for a fraction of a second, if Yevon was beginning to suspect something but he pushed the thought away.

Forcing a sadistic grin onto his face he replied, "About time. I was beginning to think you weren't going to give me another shot at him!"

"Well your record _is_ less then wonderful against him," Yevon replied as he stood up and dusted himself off. "I've honestly considered letting Shuyin handle him since you seem incapable of doing so. However, Shuyin is the only one who can operate Vegnagun, so you'll get _one last shot_ to take him out."

"I assure you," Lusniec said with all honesty, "that one shot is _all_ I'll need."

"Very well, then go and get ready. Both of you. I'd hate to keep our guests waiting," Yevon said before disappearing into a warped gray light.

"Looks like you get to live just a little longer," Shuyin shot at Lusniec who simply turned and smiled kindly, an act alone that would've scared Shuyin coming from the Lusniec he'd known.

"You couldn't kill me if you tried," Lusniec said cheerfully, waving a finger back and forth at Shuyin like a parent reprimanding a child might. "And for your own sake… I suggest you _don't_ try it," he added as Shuyin's grip tightened unconsciously on Baralai's staff. With a snicker the angel walked away, leaving Shuyin to wonder just what was going to happen when they fought.

888

"So let me get this straight…" Ryan said as he stared at Nooj with a blank expression. "You're going to… shoot your friend to stop Shuyin from using his body, hope that he lives through it, then blow yourself up when Shuyin comes back for your body?"

"I said I had a plan, not a smart one," Nooj replied evenly as the group watched Baralai's body playing an organ on top of Vegnagun, with a ghostly image of Shuyin playing behind it.

"But… you're our captain," Paine stated quietly.

"Exactly."

"I don't like your plan. It sucks." All eyes turned to the High Summoner as she stared at the Youth League leader defiantly, and when she was sure that everyone was paying attention she continued, "Your plan is awful. Think about it. It's no different than what we did two years ago. We destroyed our own allies, we destroyed the Aeons who had fought together with us, at our sides. We didn't have a choice then. We believed that was the only way we could save Spira. Do you know what it was like to watch them die? Right before my eyes?" Yuna stopped for a second and sighed while Rikku gripped Ryan's hand tighter and Seph rolled his eyes.

"It was the only thing we could do. It was the only choice we had. I gave in, I accepted, I believed. I allowed it to be true. I thought I'd be able to go through with it without ever doubting myself. But I… it hurts so much!" everyone who'd been present at the end of the battle with Sin felt a pang of regret tug at their hearts while the High Summoner fought back tears. "Everyone was so happy! "Great job, Yuna. You did it. You saved us all!" There were too many smiles to count, and I know I was smiling, too. But now… when I look back… the people who should be here aren't. Some of the ones who should be smiling with me aren't here anymore!"

"_We had no choice._" Braska's voice pointed out calmly, barely audible over the gentle breeze moving through the area.

"'We had no choice.' Always "we had no choice.' Those were our magic words," Yuna said with a slight chuckle. "We repeated them over and over again. But you know… the magic never worked! The only thing we're left with is regret!"

"_Yuna… I'm sorry…_" Came the phantasmal reply from Braska, causing shivers to run down several spines.

"No. I don't want this anymore!" Yuna said sternly. "I don't want friends to die…" she glanced over at Ryan and Matt with a slight smile before adding, "or fade away. I don't want battles where we have to lose in order to win. Nooj, I know what you say is what you mean to do. Give me your resolve. Believe in Yuna!"

Nooj stared at Yuna for a long while, the combination of his intense gaze and the eerie sound Shuyin was making with the organs creating an atmosphere that had Seph shift uncomfortably. "So you have a plan." Nooj's words were as much a statement as they were a question.

"Light?" Paine asked as she glanced at Yuna uncertainly.

"That's plan B," Yuna explained, much to the surprise of the group. "But before that… Hey, Rikku,. No matter how monstrous it is, Vegnagun's still just a machina. That means we can take it apart, right?"

"Uh yeah… uh, maybe?" The Al Bhed said uncertainly when all gazes fell on her.

"You never used to be the think-before-you-act type. What gives?" The joking voice turned the entire group around to find Gippal, LeBlanc, Ormi, and Logos coming up the trail that they'd followed not so long ago.

"Finished catching your breath already?" Seph asked with a smirk as Gippal passed him, but the Al Bhed didn't even acknowledge that he'd spoken.

"LeBlanc!" Nooj cried out in surprise and, much to the amusement of Matt and Seph, worry.

"And I was never the wait-like-a-good-girl type," the scantily clad blonde said with a wink towards Nooj, who's confusion became evident when she continued speaking, "Isn't that right, Noojie?"

"Vegnagun can be destroyed," Gippal reassured the group with a goofy grin. "Abso-posi-you better believe it! Wanna know why?"

"Oh! 'Cause people built it!" Rikku shouted cheerfully, and Gippal just nodded.

"Right!" Yuna shouted to draw everyone's attention. "Looks like we can stop that thing after all!"

"This should be fun," Matt stated as small bolts of lightning jumped around his free hand.

"Agreed," Nick said sarcastically as he looked at the monstrous Machina before them. "Nothing like saving the world to send you to bed in a good…" his words died in his throat as Vegnagun began to shake violently.

"Bwahahahahahahahah! He's mad now!" shouted Ormi as he readied his shield despite the absurdity of the act.

"Witless little widget, isn't it?" Logos questioned as Shuyin laughed manically.

"What about Shuyin?" Nooj asked.

"Plan B! Love!" Yuna said in a slightly excited tone.

"Nuu puo (Hoo boy)," Gippal muttered under his breath with a chuckle.

"The ultimate illusion," Nooj stated, drawing a sour look from LeBlanc.

"It'll work!" Yuna shouted encouragingly. "I've come this far to bring Lenne's feelings to Shuyin. I'm not stopping now!"

"The power of love conquers all! So romantic!" LeBlanc said with a dreamy sigh. "Count me in!"

"I'll gladly count you into the body count." The sudden appearance of the voice caused the group to spin around with impressive speed, weapons clearing holders as bullets and spells hissed through the air with terrifying speed only to disappear against a wall of gray flames. "What, not glad to see me? I'd have figured that Seph and Matt, at least, would want a rematch."

"Yevon…" Seph said calmly as he turned to face the deranged god. "How _wonderful_ to see you."

"The pleasure is all yours, I assure you," Yevon replied with a laugh as he unfastened his unsettling cloak and let it drift to the ground by his feet to reveal polished, grey armor residing underneath it. "Well Matt, Seph. Are you two ready to die?"

"No, not really," Matt said as he tore his axes free and readied himself for combat, bolts of electrical power leaking out of his body and running across his weapons. "But that doesn't much matter. Time to put an end to this, Yevon."

"You'll regret ever looking at Rae," Seph added before the very ground the group was standing on splintered, isolating the three gods as it began to drift towards a large rock that looked like it could've been as big as Guadosalam.

"Looks like the games are beginning already…" Ryan said quietly as he moved away from the group and stood at the edge of what remained of the rock they were standing on. Eyes narrowed as Wind Cutter flashed down, shearing through the rock behind him and meeting a familiar, cursed blade as it tore through the ground in an explosion of rock, sparks, and holy energy that disintegrated the section of the rock that Ryan was standing on.

"Good instincts, Ryan!" Lusniec complimented with a laugh as he rose through the debris, his magnificent, giant wings beating slowly to keep him aloft as Ryan landed on a small chunk of rock and watched the angel before him with a creeping feeling of dread. Everything about Lusniec, in that moment, seemed regal. No dirt seemed to land on his outfit. The area around him seemed to glow with a gentle light, and Lusniec himself held no hint of malice or hatred at all. He seemed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the confident and holy warrior that Ryan had always imagined as the protector of the gods.

It was, in its own way, the single most terrifying thing he'd ever seen.

"Stay sharp now! I'm expecting my successor to at least make me break a sweat!" Lusniec shouted before a single beat of his powerful wings launched him across the short distance in a flurry of snow-white feathers and small pieces of debris.

Ryan jumped up and over the regal-looking angel, seeking better footing among the floating debris. As soon as he landed on a slightly larger stone he whirled around, Wind Cutter arcing towards Lusniec's neck with deadly precision. Lusniec didn't even look away from Ryan as he snapped Demon Edge into place perfectly before lowering his shoulder and trying to barrel into Ryan who only escaped by planting his foot on Lusniec's shoulder and jumping away again.

"Come now Ryan! I expected you to do more then just _run away_!" Lusniec shouted as he appeared in Ryan's path suddenly with a disappointed look.

"Oh shut up!" Ryan replied as he slammed Wind Cutter down as hard as he could. Once again Demon Edge found its way between Lusniec and Ryan's blade, and the impact of the two blades sent shockwaves through the area and hurled the two in opposite directions.

"Ryan! Be careful!" Rikku shouted as she watched him launch off the wall and back into the battle.

"Alright people," Nick shouted to gain the attentions of those still left. "We've got a giant Machina to dismantle before it blows up a planet."

"Right…" Sakura said as she looked Vegnagun over warily. "This is going to take some planning…"

"Alright," Yuna said as she stared up at the awakening colossus as well. "Here's what we'll do."

888

"Tell me boys, have you made peace with your sins yet?" Yevon asked smugly, ignoring the air around the three of them as it cracked and hissed with power. The smaller rocks around their battlefield shattered as they drifted closer, spraying the area with loose and unstable footing.

"I don't think it much matters. You can't beat us," Matt said calmly as he twirled Lightning Edge a few times as he scanned the battlefield. It was so unstable for a battle that was certain to be horribly destructive to the nearby areas.

"A bold claim," Yevon pointed out as he readied his weapons.

"Oh for the love of Spira," Seph muttered before a whip of water shot towards Yevon's leg. The god watched it approach with a confident smile, and only when it was about to wrap about his leg he snapped his fingers. A few yellow sparks launched from his glove quickly enlarging as they crashed into the water with a sharp "hiss".

"Testy, testy," Yevon chided with a smirk and a gentle wagging of his finger. "I didn't say go yet!"

"Do I look like the kind of guy who waits for permission to kill?" Seph asked grimly as a wall of grey fire shot up behind Yevon with another sharp hiss, startling him slightly.

"I see… always attacking from behind…" Yevon said with a chuckle as he started towards the two slowly. "Once an assassin, always an assassin, eh?"

"More so then you realize," Seph agreed as spear of water shot down through a rock. Yevon spun to the right to avoid it as the sheet of flames that shot up to protect him was pierced. He stopped suddenly as a second spear shot up through the ground and nearly took off his foot. Before Yevon could recover his footing Matt was there, his axes pounding away as Yevon whipped his own weapons around frantically to ward the attack off.

"Tricky!" Yevon shouted as he feinted at Matt with his mace. As soon as Matt moved to block the attack Yevon lashed out with his foot, knocking Matt's feet out from under him and sending him to the ground. A flick of his wrist brought his morning start crashing down towards Matt who barely managed to get Off-Hand up in time to keep his face from being skewered by the points coming off of it. "Not… bad… Matt!" Yevon admitted as he threw all of his weight against Matt's guard in hopes of overpowering him.

"Wish I could say the same!" Matt replied calmly. Yevon raised an eyebrow curiously as he looked Matt over. When Matt's calm face became a smirk Yevon's eyes widened, and they widened even more when Matt a foot into Yevon's chest so hard that the god felt it through his armor before being tossed over Matt and landing on his back with a thud followed closely by an amused chuckle as a column of water crashed down against his wall of flames.

"Very well done you two, very well done indeed!"

888

"Come on, this is boring," Lusniec complained with a sigh as he watched Ryan stumble backwards while clutching his blood-stained side. "You could at least try… well attacking would be nice, but I'd settle for defending even…"

"Shut up," Ryan replied harshly as he sent a wave of healing magic flowing into his side. "When the hell did you get so strong anyway?"

"Oh, a little while ago," Lusniec replied as he began to circle his wounded heir casually. The younger angel watched him warily, never allowing Lusniec to leave his sight, much to Lusniec's amusement. "Relax, Ryan! If you're too tense, too uptight, you can't enjoy the fight!" Lusniec's blade crashed against Wind Cutter so forcefully that despite not trying to block it head on the force nearly tore Wind Cutter from his hands, and it _did _tear open his palms on contact to the point where the blood coursing down the hilt made it hard to hold.

"Ryu Kan Sen!" Lusniec smirked as Wind Cutter's blade flashed towards the back of his neck. At the last second he ducked under the desperate counter, shifted his weight to one foot, and spun around as fast as he could.

"Same to you!" Lusniec shouted as the hilt of Demon Edge connected with Ryan's ribcage with a loud "crack" and sent him tumbling through the air again. "Ohhh…. That looks painful…"

"You talk… _way_… too much," Ryan gasped as he struggled to get back to his feet. Before he could Lusniec was there, Demon Edge cutting through the ground where his head had been a second before. Rolling backwards Ryan launched himself away from the ground only to get sent back into the ground a second later when Lusniec appeared behind him too fast for him to avoid a kick to the head.

"So!" Lusniec said as he landed next to his pain-wracked heir lightly. "Or would you prefer that I continue talking rather then decimating?"

"What the hell… are… you?" Ryan asked through clenched teeth that were red with blood.

"A very enlightened man," Lusniec said cheerfully as he sat down on a rock and watched Ryan patiently. "You could say I did something akin to finding the missing piece of a puzzle I've been working on for the past millennia or so, I suppose."

"What?"

"I can't really explain it in any way that'll be believable to you, not now," Lusniec said with a sarcastic sigh of regret. "Now enough talking. Get up Ryan. Try to keep me at least amused, would you?"

"Shut… up…" Ryan ordered as he pushed himself up slowly. "I'll just figure it out… as we go…"

"That would be a feat that would put you on the level of beings hundreds of years your elders," Lusniec said with a laugh. "By all means, please do! I'd love to see my heir be so successful!"

"You're insane…"

"Compliments won't get me to go easy on you!" Lusniec replied with a wink as Ryan stood up slowly.

888

"Down!" Seph shouted before a razor sharp blade of water shot out at the two dueling gods a few dozen feet away from him.

"Too simple!" Yevon shouted as he shoved Matt away with one hand, tossed the weapon in his other hand into the air and then threw his free hand forward while snapping his fingers. A dull grey flame shot forward and met the water blade head on, the two powers canceling each other out almost instantly. "Come on boys, this isn't any fun!"

"Shut up!" Matt shouted as he slammed his axes into the ground while a ring of lightning surrounded him. Seph shook his head in disgust at the stupidity that must have overtaken Matt to try such a slow forming technique with Yevon a few feet away, but quickly stopped. This was Matt. He wasn't stupid, and he was certainly smart enough to realize how foolish he was being. What was he doing?

"Fool!" Yevon shouted as his morning star landed in his free hand. Immediately Yevon closed the gap between the two of them, his weapons diving towards Matt's face eagerly. The lightning god just smiled as the ring that had been around him disappeared in a burst of electricity. Yevon's eyes widened as Lightning Edge and Off-Hand shot up in a rising cross that met Yevon's attack with a burst of electricity. Matt grunted under the force of the attack as the ground shattered under the attack, but let out a grim chuckle. "You can't beat me!"

"I can," Seph stated calmly as a cyclone of water sprang up around the two suddenly. The shattered chunks of ground go lifted up into the cyclone along with the two gods and flew around so quickly that lightning, fire, and water cancelled each other out in a cacophony of hissing and snapping set to an accompaniment of agonized screams of pain from the two trapped gods.

"_Futile_!" the sudden shout from Yevon caught the normally indifferent water god off guard, and in the fraction of a second that his concentration wavered a dull grey light poked a hole through the cyclone. Then a second and a third, until the grey light tore the cyclone apart and sent water flying dozens of feet in every direction and drenching Matt and Seph in the process. "Such simple attacks will _never_ harm m-" Yevon was interrupted mid-sentence by a coughing fit that had him stumbling around before falling to his knees.

"What the hell…?" Seph questioned as Matt stood up and backed away cautiously as regular flames began to pour out of the gods body from every available opening. The ground they were standing on melted as the flames licked it, turning the area around Yevon into a pool of molten lava in a matter of seconds.

"I suddenly have very bad feeling about this…" Matt admitted as the flames forced the pair of gods to the edge of the battle ground.

"You must have _superb_ instincts," Seph replied dryly.

"Can't you stop it with water?" Seph rolled his eyes at the question.

"If I could do that I would have. There isn't any water left in the area, it's all evaporated," Seph stated slowly, his annoyance leaking into his voice as the flames melted the last portion of rock that was keeping Yevon's convulsing form on the battlefield. "Looks like we lucked out anyway…"

888

"This isn't working!" Sakura shouted as she dodged a laser blast by diving behind a particularly sturdy rock that barely shielded her from the attack. Another rocket exploded and out of the corner of her eye she saw Gippal toss aside the rocket launcher he'd brought with him, and Yuna dove next to her to reload in as much safety as she could.

"I know, I know!" Yuna said frantically as she finished reloading, leaned out from behind cover, aimed, and froze.

"What is it? Yuna-chan?" Sakura asked as she stared at the trembling High Summoner.

"No… no!" Yuna shouted as she started firing, her eyes huge with terror and panic. "Stop it!"

"Yuna-chan…" Sakura whispered at the surprising reaction of the High Summoner. When she didn't respond Sakura peaked over the edge and instantly sucked in her breath in disbelief. "No! Stop it!"

888

"Damn it!" Lusniec muttered as he watched the events unfold while standing next his helpless and prone successor. He wasn't sure if Ryan would be ok anytime soon, but he knew that he was too tough to die so easily, though the amount of blood pooling around Ryan was slightly worrying. What was happening around him was even more worrying though. He'd felt Vena's power dwindling quickly as Yevon drew on it more and more, and know it was…

Gone. There was no possible explanation but the one that he'd been dreading would come true for quite awhile now. "Vena… you really went all out, didn't you…?" he asked as Yevon, completely consumed in pure white flames, fell through the hole the heat had put in the rock. "See ya later, man," he said before putting a foot in front of Ryan's face, expanding his wings, and wrapping himself in them completely as a wave of white flames exploded outward in an almost deafening explosion. "Geez… talk about going out in a blaze of glory…" Lusniec complained as the force of the explosion shattered the rock that he was standing on. 'Damn it! Ryan's stubborn, but even he'll die if he fal-'

"I'll purify this world!" the insanity behind the voice nearly froze Lusniec's blood. He snapped his head around in time to see Vegnagun produce a huge cannon from its torso and aim it at Spira. Lusniec's heart skipped a beat as he realized that he had to choose between Ryan and a planet.

"Shuyin, I swear you'll pay for this!" He growled as he took off, racing to interpose himself between Vegnagun's cannon and Spira as Shuyin raced to fire it before the flames that marked Vena's death reached him. He felt it a second before he heard the cannon itself fire. It wasn't like anything he'd felt in a thousand years. It certainly couldn't be called energy. It was as if a beam of raw hatred was flying towards his back, and after a second the pure white flames from the explosion began to snake around it beam, nearly doubling the amount of power behind it. "Damn, damn, damn! Where are those gods when you need them?!" Lusniec shouted as he spun around and pointed his sword at the blast and took a deep breath.

"_Kulggen nindel kyorlen l' tupora, pholor ussta quarthas ulu sslig'ne nindol thac'zil, Usstan lar tau ulu ann'ish ghil lu' ilkalik l' fashkan nindel Usstan'bal belbaunin ussta xan'ss ulu sslig'ne qua'laen_!" the angel whispered harshly as the blast drew closer. For several seconds nothing happened, and then, as the blast loomed before him like a wall of raw hatred he smiled and let out an amused chuckle. Less then an inch in front of him the beam slammed into something, scattering in every direction with flames dancing harmlessly against his spell. "_Jous dosstan lu' luth tarthe nindyn nindel zotreth a dos, Galgallin_!" He said with a chuckle, and immediately a pair of wheels, one within the other, and each covered in hundreds of eyes appeared in front of him, all eyes swiveling until, one-by-one, they came to rest on the cannon protruding from Vegnagun's torso. Flames reached the eyes and slowly, gently disappeared, followed by the beam, until no flames or energy remained. "_Drewst ol dal l' jindurn d' nindol tresk'ri_," Lusniec said quietly, his sword still pointed toward Vegnagun's cannon. The being shuddered for a second before the eyes shrank to tiny dots before firing back what they'd absorbed with ten times the force. The blast tore into Vegnagun, melting a hole through it with seemingly no resistance and continuing on into the endless expanses of the fareplane. "_V'dre nin. Usstan xal inbal ssrig'luin d' dos 'sohna wun l' ulin_," he whispered to the creature as it began to fade away like a wisp of smoke in a gentle breeze until nothing was left.

Looking at the half melted remains of Vegnagun he felt a shudder run through his body as the backlash of the technique drained him of almost all his magic. "Damn… I overdid it…" he whispered as he drifted down towards the charred ground that Yevon hand landed on. He'd been around long enough to see the death, and subsequent rebirth, of more then a dozen gods. In a few minutes Andy's body would reform in a small burst of flames, and Yevon would have _all_ of the power he'd used against Matt and Seph back. Even if the two were around and able to fight they wouldn't have the strength to last very long.

"Lusniec!" the angel laughed as he landed, watching as Yevon staggered out of the crater, beaten, bloody, and dirtier then Lusniec had ever had the privilege of seeing him.

"Well! If it isn't my old friend Yevon!" Lusniec replied cheerfully as he turned on one foot and faced the enraged god with a playful smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"You… stopped… _Vegnagun_!" Yevon shouted as a beam of grey light flew towards the angel who calmly side-stepped it. "You _traitor_!"

"Traitor? Funny," Lusniec said, his tone suddenly serious as he regarded Yevon. "I don't recall swearing any oath of fealty to _you_, though you'd have me believe I did." Yevon's eyes widened in horror as Lusniec took a step towards him. "Modifying a soul's memory is easy, especially after such a battle. You always were good with magic. You would've had me but you were too _weak_ to completely destroy that which you removed. So instead you sealed it inside of the Den of Woe, arrogantly thinking that your spell would never weaken."

"It _didn't_! How the _hell_ did you get in there?" Yevon demanded as he backed away from Lusniec, stumbling as he struggled to keep his balance.

"It's simple. Your spell _didn't_ weaken. The part of me that you sealed away _recovered_, called the part of me you'd enslaved, and then the two of us became one," Lusniec explained calmly. "But that's all in the past. You're a fool Yevon. You let your guard down, go lazy, and now you're going to pay the price!"

"Stay awa-" Yevon's scream died in his throat as Demon Edge drove itself through his chest with a black glow. No blood poured forth as Lusniec continued to press his blade into the god until the blade was completely sticking out of Andy's back.

And on the end, thrashing and writhing in pain was a translucent body that perfectly mirrored the god that had enslaved Lusniec Thousands of years earlier. "Game over!" Lusniec shouted as he sent the last blast of magic he had directly into Yevon, hurling him off the end of the blade and into the iron grasp.

"What is this treachery?! Two against one?! Afraid to fight me alone, Lusniec?!" Yevon demanded as he struggled in vain to escape the pyrefly enshrouded figure's grip.

"Oh, shut up. I'm not as young as I used to be. Summoning Galgallin isn't exactly easy, and I haven't done it in over a millennia," Lusniec said as he lodge Demon Edge into the ground and leaned heavily on it. "I'll just entrust your punishment to my friend over there. I'm sure he's been itching to get a shot at you after the hell you've caused him."

888

"God… damn… pant wearing… faggot…" Ryan growled as he clawed his way across an uneven, debris covered piece of rock that he hoped would lead to Yuna. He had no magic left, his potions had been shattered in the fall, and he had no idea where he was. "I swear I'll… kill him next time."

"There is no next time for you!" Ryan's eyes widened as he rolled to the side as fast as he could, which was too slow to completely avoid Shuyin's attack. The blade pinned his hand to the ground, forcing him to scream in pain as Shuyin tore it free. "If I can't destroy Spira now, I'll at least keep Lusniec from having the pleasure of killing you!"

"I'm not gonna… just roll over and… die!" Ryan said through gasps for air.

"No kidding, you're too beat up to do that again!" Shuyin boasted triumphantly as he lazily stabbed down at the nearly helpless form below him. With the last of his strength Ryan managed to bat the attack away at the last second with Shinagami, which Shuyin kicked out of his hand instantly. "Stubborn fo… what, did you think this dark line was going to stop me? Idiot!"

Ryan pressed his eyes shut. He didn't even have the energy to move his head to see what Shuyin was talking about, never mind avoid the attack. He was going to die too exhausted to do anything about it.

The distinct shriek of metal crashing against metal, followed by the burning sensation of sparks landing on his skin convinced him to open his eyes one last time. "Who're you?! Forget that, it doesn't matter. I'll kill you too!" After a few seconds Shuyin stumbled over him and crashed to the ground next to him. A gloved hand grabbed Ryan by the shoulder and pulled him away from Shuyin, deflecting several sword-strikes in the process. "Who are… you?"

"Drink this and shut up," a man replied, though it was in a joking tone as it lifted his head and poured a potion down his throat. Ryan coughed for a few seconds after swallowing most of it, but by then Shuyin had recovered his footing and started stalking forward. "Relax, rest up. I'll deal with this guy until your friends arrive."

"Thanks…" Ryan managed to gasp out before his wound ushered him into the blissful sleep.

"Well then…" the hooded figure said as he turned stood and started towards Shuyin. "I believe I've a promise to keep to a severely hurt man. I'm sure you'll understand."

"_Die_!" was all the reply he got before Shuyin charged.

888

"Oh my god… my head is killing me…" Matt said with a groan as he sat up, shaking debris out of his hair and off his shoulders. "What the hell happened?"

"I have no… idea…" Seph gasped as he pulled a long, jagged piece of rock out of his leg. "I guess you don't either, then?"

"No, I'm asking because I'm curious as to what you thought," Matt replied dryly as he helped the water god up. "Where do you think the others are?"

"By Vegnagun's remains. We did leave it to them after all," Seph pointed out as he pointed towards the remains of the giant Machina above them.

"Damn that's a far walk… think you can make it go by a bit faster?" Matt asked seconds before several stairs leading up appeared before him.

"This is the best I can do, especially without knowing what the hell Yevon did," Seph stated as he glanced around warily before sighing. "Dumbass, don't forget your weapons…"

"I'm sorry, my hands are kind of full," Matt replied sharply.

"Fine, fine," Seph replied as two strands of water shot out and wrapped around the axes before pulling them over towards the two.

"Matt! Seph!" Rikku shouted from somewhere up above them suddenly, causing both gods to look up. "Have either of you seen Ryan?! I saw him fall somewhere down there after Vegnagun fired its cannon!"

"Sorry, haven't seen him!" Matt shouted back after glancing around for a few seconds. "Don't worry though! You know how hard he is to kill!"

"It's Shuyin!" Paine shouted suddenly, pointing to a chunk of rock where Shuyin was propped up against a rock.

"Damn… it's never over. Ever. Why can't they just disappear?" Matt asked with a groan as Yuna started towards the, already casting healing magic.

"We need to stop this. No time for healing," Seph stated, pushing away from Matt and flying ahead on a platform of water. "Hey, Rikku! Your boy toy is up here too!"

"What?!" Rikku shouted before taking off towards the area at a dead run.

"Geez… how the hell can you all have so much energy?" Matt questioned as he sat down and reveled in the healing magic coursing through his body.

"We didn't go at it with a guy wielding the power of two gods," Sakura said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder, forcing him to lean back slightly.

"I suppose that's true," Matt admitted as he let out a chuckle. "Poor Ryan. He's gotta be beat to hell, and Rikku's gonna be shaking him and tackling him and all that kind of stuff…"

"Well, I'm sure he'll get over it somehow," Sakura said with a gentle giggle.

888

"Get away from me!" Shuyin shouted when Yuna tried to talk to him. "You're not Lenne! I'll kill you for pretending to be her!"

"Shuyin, you're alive because we're letting you live. You'd do well to act a bit more civil," Ryan mumbled.

"No! I'll kill you al-" Shuyin's shout died in his throat as Yuna's outfit began to glow. Pyreflies swirled around her in a dazzling display of colors.

"Wha… what's going on?" Yuna asked as the pyreflies and the glow of her suit moved forward, taking on a luminescent form of a woman that looked like Yuna with longer hair.

"Lenne…?" Shuyin asked in disbelief as the woman stepped forward and took his hand calmly. "Lenne…"

"Hi there," Lenne said gently.

"A thousand years," Shuyin said bitterly. "And this moment is all we get?"

"This moment is enough," Lenne said sweetly. "I don't need anything else. Just knowing how you feel is enough. Shuyin, let's end this. Let's go home."

"Can we?" Shuyin asked hopefully, though his voice was somewhat guarded as if he expected her to disappear at any moment. Any trace of disbelief disappeared when she placed her hands on his shoulder and smiled.

"That was all a thousand years ago," She said with a slight giggle. "We've come too far to look back now. Rest, Shuyin. Rest with me." She leaned down and hugged him tightly. "Let's go. I have a new song for you," she said as she helped him up and started away from the ring the group had formed around them. "Thank you," Lenne whispered as the two passed Yuna, disappearing and leaving the group alone on the Farplane.

888

"Seph!" Rae shouted when the group finally emerged from the hole they'd fallen into. "Thank the gods, I was so worried!"

"Calm down," Seph said as he patted her on the back gently. "It'll take a hell of a lot more then anything Yevon can throw at me to kill me."

"I hate to break up this happy union, ya? But we need Matt and Ryan to come with us, ya?" Wakka said suddenly as he burst through the crowd of people, grabbed each of them buy a shoulder, and started dragging them towards his hut. "This is something you brudda's ain't gonna believe."

"Whoa, slow down Wakka, we're still beat up!" Ryan complained as the laughing blitzer lead them into the home he shared with Lulu and Vidina.

"Watch where you're shoving us!" Matt added as he spun around a corner to avoid being forced into it face first.

"Wakka never was very good at listening." The two stopped complaining, stopped moving, immediately. "I'll tell you what though. Nothing feels better then getting rid of a giant tick of doom out of your system."

"What the hell…?" Ryan asked in shock.

"When did you…?" Matt stammered.

"Well now, never thought I'd see you two stumbling over your words," a man with shaggy brown hair and a beard said, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Andy… you little shit… what the hell happened?" Ryan questioned.

"That's a story best saved for sharing a good home cooked meal. Fortunately for us, Lulu's a surprisingly good cook. Bad thing is it won't be done until sundown. Think you can last until then?" Andy asked with a smirk as he patted both of them on the back.

"_Yuna_!" All three heads turned to find the High Summoner charging down towards the beach.

"What the hell's gotten into her? I was expecting at least a 'good to see you Andy' from Yuna of all people…" Andy complained as the three took off after her, tailing her as she weaved her way past an excited crowd of people.

"It's him! He's back!" Some told them when they asked what was going on.

"No way…" the three said in unison as they went from a jog to an all out sprint for most people. When they rounded the corner they couldn't help but burst out into laughter at the sight of Yuna half-drowning Tidus as kissed him all over his face and hugged him tightly in the water.

"Hey, how about getting a room!" Matt shouted jokingly until Sakura ran up and jumped on his back, knocking him over in his still unsteady state. "Geez, do we need a room now too?"

"You wish," Sakura said with a smirk, bringing a laugh from everyone there as Matt just sighed helplessly.

888

"What do you think?" A brunette man asked the raven haired woman next to him as they watched the group gathered around the large fires, celebrating the safety of Spira and the return of Tiuds.

"I think," the woman said bitterly, "that we're screwed."

"Ever the optimist," The brunette said cheerfully, causing the woman to scowl.

"Hmph, they're better then they look," the third member of the group said confidently despite not looking at them. "They'll manage… somehow."

"You'd best make sure that they're at least good enough to divert attention from us," the woman said gravely before walking down towards the beach, away from the fires.

"She's always like that. You get used to it after awhile," the brunette said before heading off himself, leaving the third man alone.

He stood there for awhile, turning his head to watch the group. He smiled to himself slightly. This was going to be fun.

888

"Wakka, Tidus! Come teach us how to blitz!" a group of kids shouted as they practically dragged the two away and towards the beach.

"Hey, hey, slow down, alright, alright!" Tidus said with a laugh as the group rounded a corner and found a man standing in the middle of the rode, his features cloaked in darkness. "Hey, mister! If you're hungry there's plenty of food up at the party!"

"Yeah, come on brudda! Always room for one more, even if we don't know you, ya?" Wakka added in as they moved closer to the man.

"Your story…" The pair froze, ice shooting down their spines. "_Now_ your story _truly _begins."

"No way…" Wakka whispered in disbelief as a cloud moved out from in front of the moon, bathing the area in a pale light. "Impossible…"

"You traveling along side gods… took down sin, and managed to get the girl of your dreams, yet my return is impossible?" The man asked with a raised brow.

"Ah! No, no, I'm just not sure what to say, ya? Not every day a legendary guardian comes back to life sayin' that the true story begins now, brudda!" Wakka said as he glanced at the kids. "Sorry kids, ya? Old friends show up and you gotta show'em the proper respect!"

"Awwwww…" the kids said in unison but they grabbed their ball and ran back to the warmth of the campfires.

"Enjoy your night off. Tomorrow we start training."

"Same old Auron…" Tidus muttered with a smirk when the he was sure that the guardian wasn't in hearing distance.

* * *

And there you have it. More questions abound, and the true story about to begin. What's in store for Spira in the years to come? Find out in Requiem of Divinity! And don't forget to review damn it Or I'll sick Lusniec on you ; 


	17. Next Book?

Enjoyed Return of the Gods? Check out the final book following the series of the gods, Requiem of Divinity!


End file.
